


Getting Pulled Over and Bundled into the Trunk

by TheSteinsGateFormula



Series: Getting thrown in E Class was like being shoved into a car with no seatbelts and being driven at 70mph [2]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Gakuhou Asano trying to be a good parent and failing, Past Asano Gakushuu is in Class 3-E, Past Child Abuse, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28098348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSteinsGateFormula/pseuds/TheSteinsGateFormula
Summary: After the brief stint in 3-E and then the return to 3-A  (since Seo couldn't be left alone for two minutes without getting his hands stuck in a jam jar, and Class A was more co-dependent than Koro-sensei was to junk food and adult magazines) he was ready for life to go back to some semblance of normality....And then Kayano turned out to be Yukimura-sensei's sister and a famous actress, with connections to a mad scientist who was also a cyborg, and...at this point he'd seen less complicated family connections in a soap opera.*Sequel to Getting Dragged Along For the Ride.
Series: Getting thrown in E Class was like being shoved into a car with no seatbelts and being driven at 70mph [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054907
Comments: 38
Kudos: 214
Collections: Asano Gakushuu Centric





	1. The Neverending Plot-twists

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel time! I finally finished the outline for the story. I'll probably be posting every couple of days or weeks, but we'll see how it goes since I need to finish the react story before 2021 knocks on the door.

If Gakushuu could pinpoint the exact moment his life became a trainwreck it would be the first day he stepped into 3-E’s teacher’s lounge.

“Hello!” A giant yellow octopus in a goofy teacher’s uniform and a large oversized round head clapped his tentacles and rushed over to Gakushuu who had frozen stock still while Mr Karasuma sighed from the doorway. “A new student! How exciting!!”

Gakushuu choked, staring wide-eyed at the creature like he’d been smacked in the face with a wet fish. “A…”

The creature was still talking. “—Now, I know first days can be scary, but don’t worry, you’ll be settled in no time—have you ever fired a gun before?” The octopus was gushing, patting him on the shoulders. “If not that’s fine, you’re a quick learner so if you need any help trying to kill me, don’t be afraid to ask—”

Gakushuu’s eye twitched as everything dawned on him and he realised he was talking and being doted on by a giant octopus and—

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!!” He screamed, making the walls shake and causing the creature to yelp and jump back in alarm.

And that was the moment the last shred of normality in his life disappeared.

* * *

Gakushuu sighed when he remembered that moment and then watched Kayano/Yukimura/Mase lose all elements of her sanity and light the field on fire with her tentacles.

Because apparently, through some cosmic joke, it turned out Kayano was secretly Yukimura-sensei’s little sister, as well as a famous actress no one until now had recognised, and also had tentacles. 

“…Does anyone remember when we just came to school to get good grades?” he remarked dryly, wondering how everything in this class had to be an escalation.

“Asano! Focus!” Kataoka snapped, looking worried since their deranged fellow student was fighting their current and equally bizarre teacher. “We have to help her!”

_With what, a fire extinguisher?!_

He’d had a slim hope that maybe his life would return to some sort of middle school normality when he returned to 3-A to assume leadership again since his absence had caused a chasm bigger than the Atlantic ocean. But, even after returning to A-Class, it was like he couldn’t escape the insanity in which was 3-E.

“If we try to fight her we’ll be torn to shreds,” Gakushuu pointed out.

“He’s right, what can we do?” Sugino questioned.

“Koro-sensei said we need to distract her,” Nakamura said.

“With what?! Mimura won’t do air guitar,” Yoshida replied.

“LIKE THAT WAS GONNA WORK!” Mimura snapped.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!” Kayano was screaming like a tentacled-banshee.

They quickly steppe further back as she lunged in. “How did she even manage to keep this side of her hidden for months?”

Karma grimaced. “She’s a good actress.”

“If she wasn’t borderline insane right now, I’d be impressed by her manipulation.” Gakushuu looked on grimly.

Her act had been flawless, the best he’d ever seen considering he’d grown up with a Narcissist for ten years. She’d played their weaknesses and judgments perfectly, always remaining under suspicion, which brought into question just how much had been real and how much had been fake.

“…I think I have an idea,” Nagisa said, looking determined.

Gakushuu frowned, watching him warily. “With what exactly?”

The blue-haired boy took a deep breath. “You’ll see.”

Karma raised an eyebrow, exchanging a curious look with Nakamura.

They all jerked back when Kayano screamed and stabbed her tentacles straight into Koro-sensei's heart.

Koro-sensei held her. "I swore to your sister I'd never let any of you go."

Then Nagisa stepped forward.

“What is he doing?” Kimura questioned.

“Huh?” Gakushuu watched in confusion when Nagisa lunged at Kayano and…kissed her?

_Wait, what?_

“Why is he kissing her?!” He exclaimed.

“Oh, shit, he’s going in for a hit rate!” Nakamura exclaimed.

“What?!” Gakushuu looked at her in alarm. “What are you talking about?”

She shushed him and took out her phone. “Shut up! This is professional blackmail material right here!”

Karma took a photo. “Gift wrapped with a pretty bow.”

Gakushuu wondered, for what felt like the thousandth or millionth time, how this had become his life.

Nagisa deepened the kiss as Kayano's cheeks turned pink.

Gakushuu’s eyes widened. “What even is this?!”

“Aw! You don’t know?” Bitch-sensei smirked, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, mama can give you lessons.”

He scowled and whacked her hand away. “I will report you to child services!”

 _God damn predator._ _How was she even allowed to teach?!_

He knew his father’s vetting process was horrendous, but there should at least be a higher standard! Even if she was a honey-pot, it wasn’t an excuse to be a creep! He swore when all this was over he was failing that lawsuit against her.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “You’re no fun!”

Karasuma sighed, pulling her away. “Stop.”

Kayano looked dizzy, collapsing against Nagisa when the kiss hit full critical rate.

"Koro-sensei..." Nagisa gently placed her down on the grass. "Does this work?"

"Full points, Nagisa!" Koro-sensei cried. "Now's my chance!"

Gakushuu watched in amazement as the octopus removed the tentacles cleanly and quickly while Kayano slumped.

"Is she... Is she alright?" Okuda asked hesitantly. "Is this over now?"

"I think so," Koro-sensei answered. "Probably. The important thing is that she gets plenty of rest."

“And is she still going to be murderous?” Gakushuu asked cautiously, looking at the unconscious girl.

“Asano!” Okano chided.

“It’s a valid question,” he replied impatiently.

“She should be fine,” Koro-sensei replied weakly, looking exhausted. “The tentacles were the ones burning up from bloodlust.”

“Speaking of burning…” Gakushuu over at a tree which was still on fire along with a few bushes. “Should we perhaps…call someone?”

No one was listening, too busy congratulating Nagisa on his ‘genius’ solution of calming Kayano down. Karma and Nakamura came up behind Nagisa with demonic smirks on both of their faces.

Nakamura grabbed his shoulder. Nagisa’s face turned pink. "Ooh, now that was a kiss! Look at you, going all 'prince charming'. Way to go, Nagisa," Nakamura said, Karma laughing at the picture he took in the background.

"Don't make it a thing," Nagisa responded shyly, smiling. "I was distracting her from her bloodlust, that's all. I'll apologize to her when she wakes up, so..."

“Aw! Such a gentleman!” Nakamura teased, grinning as she paraded the photo proudly. “Any chance of a second shot?”

“No!” Nagisa shook his head, blushing more.

Gakushuu sighed. “Why does everything have to be perverted with you two?”

Karma grinned and rested his arm on his shoulder. “You’re just jealous because you’re hit rate is weak.”

Gakushuu scowled. “What are you talking about?!”

“Yeah.” Nakamura grinned, resting an arm on his other shoulder. “Have you ever even kissed a girl?”

His cheeks heated up, shoving the two of them away. “That’s none of your business.”

Him having never kissed anyone was completely irrelevant. He scowled, touching his mouth. Why was kissing someone a big deal anyway in this class? They were all perverted.

Bitch-sensei moved across and lifted up Nagisa’s chin. “Fifteen hits on a ten-second kiss is nothing to ride home about, honey. I'm disappointed."

"Fifteen hits?"

"If you're gonna kiss, get in there like there's no tomorrow, go big or go home! You could've pulled up a minimum of forty hits."

_FORTY?_

Gakushuu nearly choked, blushing slightly when he saw the others agree.

"Huh," Maehara said, overhearing their conversation. "My upper limit's around twenty-five."

Okajima nodded. "Mm, hm."

In the background, Kataoka was calm but had her eyes closed and tears running down her cheeks. "Why do you guys make me wanna hate this place? It's a red-letter day if I get to twenty!"

_Even Kataoka had a hit rate?_

He stared at his former classmates in alarm. Just how much time did they spend kissing? Was that normal?! Was this something he was supposed to just know?! He made a mental note to ask Ren about it later.

Suddenly, Koro-sensei coughed up more mucus.

"Koro-sensei!" Class E exclaimed.

"I'm all right!" Koro-sensei coughed up blood. "My heart just needs a while to regenerate!" His voice sounded rough."No doubt you have plenty you want to ask me, but I'll have to ask you to wait a bit longer."

Gakushuu frowned, watching the teacher warily. It was strange to see him so vulnerable, even when the Reaper had locked them up or no matter how bad things may have seemed when the Principal threatened to fire him. The teacher had never seemed weak.

He grimaced, not sure how to feel since this was the type of position they’d all wanted him to be in, but at the same time, none of them took the opportunity to attack.

The class all stayed silent as they watched him shake, until a bullet rang through the air. The bullet missed, and everyone turned to the source.

Shiro stood at the top of the hill, next to a figure dressed all in black and holding a sniper.

"Don't get carried away drawing us in by playing dead," Shiro said coldly. "You clearly have a long way to go before you kick the bucket." The rest of the class looked up at him in shock. "What a useless girl. If she was planning to put her life on the line for her revenge, you'd think she'd wait for a better time to act."

"Shiro!" Itona exclaimed, stepping back.

Gakushuu grimaced, hesitantly touching the boy’s arm when his shoulder shook briefly.

Shiro reached to his face and threw some kind of eye patch on the ground. "I am the last one. You took everything from me." His voice was harsh. "And so you will receive your just desserts."

Shiro's expression was cold when his face was revealed, his remaining intact like a thin slit-like a snake, while his other eye looked robotic.

“Yo, dude, he’s a cyborg?” Maehara whispered.

Gakushuu looked up in shock. “Apparently.”

Mutated octopuses, homicidal actresses, and now cyborgs. He sighed and clutched his head, feeling exhausted trying to keep up with the madness like his life had become a series of plot-twists with no logical coherence.

Koro-sensei breathed heavily. "So it is you... I thought I recognized that twisted genius." He then directed his words to his class. "This, boys and girls, is Yanagisawa."

Yanagisawa? Who was that supposed to…

His mind wandered to Ms Yukimura again, in the school records it was listed her second job had been for a laboratory owned by the Yanagisawa family, but nothing else much besides that.

"Time to go, number two." Shiro steered the intimidating figure in black away from the scene. "When March comes, let us give him the perfect death for his accursed life."

Gakushuu looked over at Itona who was still tense, letting go of his arm. “Is everything alright?”

Itona’s lips were down in a scowl, keeping his gaze on Shiro’s retreating form. “…Yeah.”

He hummed, not convinced, but knowing pushing wouldn’t help. Itona was a reserved person, prodding things like this would just make things worse; he might be more amenable if he made them some soup. Itona liked the chicken and mushroom blend he’d made last time.

"What's with that guy?" Fuwa said.

She wasn't answered before Kayano stirred and everyone's attention turned to her.

"What happened?" Kayano asked, her golden eyes looking up with exhaustion.

Koro-sensei sighed in relief. "Kayano. Thank goodness."

"Are you, uh... Are you okay?" Nagisa asked.

Kayano stared at him for a moment before looking away, blushing hard. "Mm-hm."

"So you're back?" Okano asked her.

Everyone gathered around as tears started to glisten in her eyes, looking ashamed. “I’m sorry!” She rushed to explain her action, describing the tentacle’s bloodlust and how they’d taken control.

“Wait, just how sentient are those things?” Gakushuu frowned, seeing Itona grimace from the corner of his eyes.

“They’re single-minded,” Itona murmured, narrowing his eyes while Kayano kept talking. “They ask you a question about what you want and then everything about them shapes around it. They won’t stop until they’ve finished what they started.”

“I see…” Gakushuu tried to imagine it, watching Kayano warily. “So it’s obsession then?”

Itona nodded. “Yeah, it can get like that.”

He hummed, looking over at his old teacher.

Then what question did Koro-sensei ask?

Koro-sensei made him tense when he started coughing softly again, trying to smother it with his tie.

"Koro-sensei," Isogai was speaking. "Kayano sure didn't spare any effort in trying to kill you." The rest of the class turned to him. "This was an assassination that took a lot more than your run-of-the-mill courage and determination."

"So there's some connection between...this assassination, your past, Ms Yukimura, and us too, but what?" Isogai continued. "Please tell us. No matter how bad your past is, as long as it's the truth we can accept it."

All of them stood in silence as the wind whipped against the grass and sent a chill through each one of them.

Then Koro-sensei took a deep breath and lifted his gaze to look at them, standing weakly to his feet.

"Very well..." he said, addressing them all. "Thank you. I'd hoped to never revisit this chapter of my life... and yet, I have little choice. Your trust is vital to me. I would never do anything to break it.” He sighed. “No matter our differences our bond is through assassination, it’s special and is what brought us all together.” He patted Gakushuu on the head, making him scowl. “And still keeps us together,” he said warmly, causing him to grow embarrassed. “I never want to jeopardise that.”

Gakushuu frowned when he was the remorseful look on the teacher’s face. “If we still trust you enough even if you’re going to destroy the earth, then you should give us more credit and tell us the truth.”

“Exactly,” Karma said, looking oddly serious. “Just tell us, we can handle it.”

Koro-sensei still hesitated, sighing. "Last summer, on the island, Mr Karasuma said to Miss Irina, if you recall, 'There's a lot more to a good assassin than meets the eye.' Those words are especially relevant here. You see, children, this class represents my first go as a teacher, but all things considered, I think it's fair to assert I've more than risen to the challenge. After all, I am a gifted improviser!"

Gakushuu frowned when his classmates gasped.

What was that meant to mean?

He looked at Itona for a clue but the boy’s brow was furrowed like he was thinking about something carefully.

Takebayashi pushed up his glasses, seeming to understand like the others. "Then... you mean..."

"Yes," Koro-sensei answered before he finished. "Until two years ago, I was the assassin known as the Reaper."

Gakushuu’s eyes widened, his memories flashing the scarred and faceless killer from months ago. A copy of an original renowned for coldness and enough blood on his hands to drown in. Making the bond they shared suddenly seem a lot more complicated.


	2. Awkward Conversations

Gakushuu hadn't been expecting much when he'd agreed to have a Christmas meal with his father, they never really celebrated it properly anyway.

So he'd been surprised and a little freaked out when he'd come back to the house to find a Christmas tree, the living room decorated head to toe in tinsel, and a full course meal ready for them.

Gakushuu shifted uncomfortably as he sat at the dining table, his father coming in with the chicken. A full course of veg, rice, potatoes, meat, and seasoned creations he wasn't sure of laid out on the table like something from a heart-warming American Christmas movie.

"Uh..."

"There we are." His father put the chicken down and took off his oven gloves. "That should be everything, feel free to eat."

"...Okay." Gakushuu looked unsure, staring at the meal. "Thank you...dad."

_Fuck, this was weird. Was this what normal families did?!_

His father smiled and sat down at the head of the table. "I found the different recipes on this website called Pinterest? Have you heard of it?"

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow, piling some veg and rice on his plate. "...Yes."

"It's quite useful for mood boards," he replied, smiling still. "I also decided to join the Twitter—"

His eye twitched. "It's just called Twitter."

"Yes, that." His father carried on. "I've been following your profile—you don't post much."

Gakushuu sighed. "Yes, well, I tend to let Ren just do the posting on behalf of both of us." He started eating so he wouldn't need to talk much.

"Ah, I see." His father sipped some juice. "So what is Itona doing this evening?"

"He's playing video games at Karma's," Gakushuu replied, shrugging. "He'll be back at nine. Then we're going to play some board games together."

"Oh." His father looked surprised. "What kind of board games?"

Gakushuu hesitated a little. "Koyama got him hooked on Dungeons and Dragons."

"Ah." His father chuckled lightly. "I see. Yes, I think I've heard of that. Do you like playing it?"

He shrugged, poking at his beef. "It's enjoyable, I suppose..."

His father nodded, looking interested. "Would you like a copy for your birthday?"

"What?" He frowned, confused briefly before he realised his father wanted to get him a gift. "Oh..." He started to feel uncomfortable. "No, it's fine. I don't really want anything."

His father's smile wavered. "Well, perhaps you'll change your mind and think of something."

Gakushuu hummed, trying to force a smile. _Koro-sensei keeps nagging us to give people second chances,_ he reminded himself. His father was still his legal guardian for the next two to three years, it would be in his best interests to try to get along. Even if it was a little bit too much...

The whole shift in the atmosphere was jarring, the lights and decorations around the house felt too bright like they belonged somewhere else. He would have preferred it if they'd just cooked something simple together and not had so many decorations around.

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

Gakushuu forced himself to relax. "Yes. The food is nice." He ate a big mouthful; it was delicious, but it also made him feel bloated.

"Good." His father looked relieved, patting him on the head. "I'm glad. I was worried, you wouldn't like it."

He hummed, swallowing and then sipping some lemonade to wash it down. "I don't know if we'll be able to finish it all."

"Yes, well you can take the leftovers with you." His father's smile grew hopeful. "I can drive you back to Itona's apartment after this. It'll save you the taxi fare."

"No," he replied a little too quickly, causing the man's smile to dim. "I mean...it's fine, I'd rather get a taxi, besides it's Christmas eve, you should be allowed to drink if you want."

Call him paranoid, but he didn't feel comfortable having his father see where he lived. The man probably knew the address but letting him see the apartment felt like he was exposing a private space his father didn't have his claws in. He hadn't even given him his burner phone number; the only phone his father could contact him on was the phone he'd bought him two months ago and that was barely turned on half the time.

"...Oh, well, I don't mind." His father sounded disappointed but Gakushuu tried to ignore it. "But, if you're sure, then that's fine."

"...Thank you for offering," he replied politely, knowing Koro-sensei would have insisted on keeping his manners. His stomach twisted the more he thought about his former teacher and everything they'd been told.

Like the fact he was a Reaper and also a ready to detonate time bomb.

It had been a lot to process.

Gakushuu started to lose his appetite more, poking at his food.

"...You seem distracted." His father's brow furrowed.

Gakushuu tensed in alarm. "I'm not distracted."

"I wasn't saying it as a bad thing," his father replied quickly, realising what the word had triggered. "I just meant...Mr Karasuma did explain to me what happened with Kayano, or I suppose Ms Yukimura is her proper name."

Gakushuu sighed. "Yes, well, it does complicate things."

His father hummed, watching him curiously. "Yes, well, attachments do that. Especially with those who are meant to be enemies." He smiled faintly. "Have your old classmates decided how they would like to proceed?"

"...No." Gakushuu sighed. He already had mixed feelings about it having only known the octopus for a few months, he couldn't even imagine how his old classmates were feeling. Koro-sensei still needed to die, and he and they were all stilly duty-bound to kill him to save the world, but could they actually bring themselves to do it? They were compromised.

"Well, I'm sure they'll think of something," his father replied, earning a hum in response. "There's still the rest of Winter break to think about it. Have you made any plans to meet up with your friends—or what about your birthday?"

"Itona wants to hang out with Karma tomorrow." Gakushuu shrugged, still thinking about Koro-sensei. "I'll be hanging out with them on my birthday as well."

"That sounds enjoyable." The Principal fiddled with his fork slightly. "I didn't know you and Akabane were friends now."  
  


"We aren't," he replied stubbornly, stabbing his brussel sprouts. "I merely tolerate him for Itona's sake."

His father raised an eyebrow. "I see."

Gakushuu scowled more. Karma was still a pest...even though he supposed he did make a worthy rival.

"Well, I was thinking..." The Principal tapped the table. "Since you'll be busy Christmas day, perhaps, you'd like to celebrate your birthday with me on New Year's eve?"

Gakushuu grew uncomfortable again, feeling put on the spot.

 _He's just trying,_ a small voice reminded him. _Be grateful._

 _"_ You don't have to," his father added quickly, making him feel more guilty. "It was just an idea."

His father was trying. He was supposed to make an effort. His father could easily revert back to his old self if pushed towards the edge again. What if he tried to kill himself again because Gakushuu pushed him away too far? It'd been less than a month since the incident, it was a delicate time.

Gakushuu absently touched his cheek. The bruise was gone, healed a good week or so ago like the bruise on his head.

His father was acknowledging him, if he wanted things to stay good he had to make an effort...

"No, it's fine. I was just surprised," he said, forcing an easy smile which looked convincing. "We can celebrate."

His father' expression relaxed. "I can make the plans, is there anything specific you'd like to do?"

"...We could see a movie?" Gakushuu suggested. Seeing a movie wouldn't be awkward, and there was barely any talking.

The Principal's expression brightened more. "Perfect! Is there a specific one you would like to watch?"

Gakushuu shrugged. "You can pick..." He didn't really know what movies his father liked so he'd probably just pick something popular. "I don't care."

"Alright then, I'll find one we can both enjoy."

"Okay." He shrugged again, eating his food before it went cold.

His father didn't comment more, a silence settling between them like it normally did when they ate.

They ate in silence for a while, his father shooting him glances every now and then until a sound made Gakushuu jump.

"HO HO HO!!!" A fat Santa appeared out from a cuckoo clock above, making him drop his cutlery and look up in alarm.

"What the hell is that?!" Gakushuu snapped.

The Principal smiled faintly. "I thought it seemed festive."

He scowled. "From what? Some Christmas horror movie?" The clock was ugly and the Santa figure looked cheap."

His father seemed amused. "Oh, I don't know, I quite like it."

Gakushuu scoffed. "It's ugly!"

His father chuckled. "Well, that's a shame. What do you think of the other decorations?"

Gakushuu hesitated, looking around the bright room. "...Did you get brainwashed by some cheesy Christmas movie or something?"

"Not that I'm aware of," the Principal replied, looking around. "As I said, this Pinterest app was very useful, I made multiple design boards—I'll share them with you."

He cringed. "Please don't..."

His father was already texting. "I've sent some links across."

Gakushuu felt his second phone buzz in his pocket, sighing. "...I'll look at them later."

The Principal smiled. "I'll share them on Twitter again so you can follow me and view them there as well."

He sighed, burying his face in his hand, wondering if he was a masochist for subjecting himself to this torture.

***

He waited until 30 minutes before he needed to leave before handing his father the Christmas card. "...Here." He held out the envelope while they were in the kitchen after tidying up the dishes. "I got you a card..."

"Thank you." The Principal smiled and took the card while Gakushuu watched warily. "I appreciate the gesture." He opened the envelope and pulled out a tasteful red Christmas card. "I'll put it on the mantlepiece."

Gakushuu hummed, trying not to fidget. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to buy you something—"

His father smile and patted his head. "Having you here is a gift."

Gakushuu's eyes widened, but he quickly tried to mask it, those words coming from his father felt foreign, all the praise his father had been giving him the last few weeks felt strange. It was like he was a different person, almost like a stranger, which was supposed to be a good thing but...

His father's change in attitude had happened so suddenly it kind of felt like it was a dream. Like it wasn't permanent.

"Thanks," Gakushuu replied, unsure what else he was supposed to say.

The Principal still smiled. "I got you something as well." He moved away, wandering to a drawer near the bookcase while he watched curiously.

Gakushuu watched him warily as he was handed a thick envelope. "Okay..." His stomach lurched when he saw it was full of money. "I don't need—"

"I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself," his father said quickly, gripping his shoulder tight. "I know you have limited money. I'm just making sure you have enough for food and necessities." His brow furrowed. "I'm still your father, I still have a responsibility to take care of you."

Gakushuu looked away, uncomfortable. "I have enough money still..."

"Please take it." His father closed Gakushuu's hand around the envelope. "I know you need space, but I would feel more reassured if you had this while you're away."

Gakushuu stayed quiet, the envelope feeling heavy in his hand. Having the extra money would help and it would placate his father since he didn't have any plans on returning home any time soon. "...Okay."

"Good." His father smiled again, cupping his cheek like he was something important. "I'm not trying to pressure you, I just worry."

He hummed, looking away. "Right..."

***

"So, what you're guilty you took the money?" Itona asked while they were sat on the floor in the living room playing video games at Karma's house.

"No." Gakushuu scowled, pressing the X button repeatedly while he tried to knock out Itona's game character, a strange man with bright green hair and unrealistic distortional muscles when Karma went to get them more drinks. "I just didn't want the money, it's like I'm giving him control again."

Itona hummed, keeping his gaze on the screen. "I get it. I guess it's still awkward." He frowned a little. "Does he keep asking you to come to his office now you're back on the main campus?"

"Yes." Gakushuu grimaced. "He keeps making up excuses to see me everyday...which I understand why, he just misses me..."

There was a pang of overwhelming guilt that kept resurfacing at the worst times. He understood his father just missed him, and he also understood that it was justified since he was no longer living at home but...it was like he was afraid the minute he let his guard down a trap would be sprung and he'd be back under the man's control.

It was all paranoia, and he felt crazy thinking about it so much.

"You guys still talking about the Principal being a creep?" Karma asked, walking into the room with a tray of drinks.

"Yep," Itona replied, taking his Pepsi off the tray. "Thanks."

Gakushuu sighed. "I'm just suspicious of his generosity." He frowned, taking his lemonade off the tray as Karma sat down the sofa. "He always taught me everything in this world has a price."

Karma hummed, drinking his usual cheap knock off of strawberry milk while he lounged on the sofa. "You think he's gonna make you go home soon?"

Gakushuu scowled when Itona's character killed him. "It seems like it." He sighed, placing the controller down. "I still have the photos from when he hit me saved and backed up, so I can use that as blackmail." He frowned, remembering the effort his father had put in with the decorations. "But I don't want to do that until necessary...besides, he told me he's going to therapy soon and he's trying to change."

"But if he's making you uncomfortable you should tell him," Itona said bluntly. "Otherwise it'll get worse."

"I'm not that uncomfortable." Gakushuu sighed and stared at the ice in his glass. "It'll pass."

He'd rather stab his own hand than talk to his father about his feelings. It was embarrassing.

Karma and Itona exchanged a shrewd look.

"If you say so." Karma raised an eyebrow. "But it's kind of naïve."

Gakushuu glared at him. "I know what I'm doing, Akabane." He took a large gulp of his lemonade and then choked when his mouth suddenly became on fire. "UGH!"

Karma smiled widely. "I added Christmas spices."

Itona calmly sipped his drink. "Sounds festive."

Gakushuu coughed and spluttered, gripping his throat as the spices ran down his throat. "You piece of—ugh!" He spluttered and spat, trying to get the fire out of his throat while Karma grinned. "DAMN IT, AKABANE!"

Karma laughed when Gakushuu lunged for him, but the red-headed demon jumped off the sofa and bolted. "Aw! But I was experimenting with different blends!"

***

Gakushuu thought he could trust his father to pick a movie that was at least mildly interesting.

"...What even is this?" he said as he watched the documentary in the cinema go into strenuous detail about penguins.

Someone behind him shushed him, he turned around and glared at the old man since it was literally just him and his father as the only other occupants.

"Shush!" The old man scowled.

Gakushuu sighed and turned around, rolling his eyes. It wasn't like the documentary was new, it was released two years again on TV, it was just being re-released on the big screen because there was nothing else to see.

"I think it's interesting." His father smiled, looking fully invested.

Gakushuu sighed, slumping in his seat. "How much longer is this anyway."

"Oh, we have another two hours."

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why would you pick this?"

The old man shushed them again.

The smile on his father's face wavered. "You used to like penguins."

Gakushuu's cheeks flushed. "Yes, when I was _five_ ," he whispered and then felt bad when his father stopped smiling. "Nevermind, it's fine. Let's just watch it."

"...We don't have to." The Principal sighed, frowning. "I'm sure we can think of something else to do..."

"Excuse me!" The old man looked annoyed. "I'm trying to watch the film."

_For goodness sake, who cared?!_

"Then just rent the DVD!" Gakushuu snapped while his father raised an eyebrow. "They'll all be dead from Global Warming anyway!"

***

It turned out yelling at the elderly customer was enough of an offence to get kicked out of the cinema.

"Well, that could have gone better," his father remarked as they walked onto the street.

Gakushuu scowled. "We were barely even being loud..."

The Principal looked amused. "Yes, well, what shall we do instead? I gave Osamu the next two hours off." He smiled. "I've been doing some reading and apparently going bowling is an interesting activity to do on your birthday."

He frowned. "Don't you have to wear other people's shoes?"

His father paused. "True, it does seem off-putting—what about mini-golf?"

"Most places are closed early because it's New Years." Gakushuu reminded him, looking around the busy street. "We could grab something to eat I suppose."

"That's a wonderful idea," his father praised, making him frown. "Where would you like to go?"

Gakushuu looked around the high street, it was mainly full of street food corners and any high-end restaurant would be too far walk away and it was cold, and he didn't really want his father spending any more money on him since he'd already given him an overbearing amount of cash already.

"There's a place Itona and I've been a couple of times," he suggested cautiously, knowing the establishment was a little cheaper than what his father was used to. "The food is nice."

"Then we'll go there." The Principal patted him on the shoulder. "Lead the way then."

***

Gakushuu looked amused when his father tried to eat the stick of greasy Yakitori as neatly as possible with a plastic knife and fork, the two of them sat down at a table in the small diner. "We do have napkins for a reason. You're meant to eat it from the stick."

His father frowned. "I just prefer to eat it this way," he insisted, chopping the skewered chicken into smaller pieces.

He arched an eyebrow. "You look ridiculous."

"No, I don't." His father stubbornly ate his chicken with a fork, dissecting it off the bamboo stick and earning some confused looks from customers passing by.

He almost laughed at the sight. "When was the last time you even ate at a place which wasn't five stars?"

The Principal hummed, eating tidily as he wiped his mouth. "I suppose when I was travelling when I was in my twenties." His brow furrowed. "Places like this tend to have low quality and it's hardly a balanced diet."

Gakusuu obnoxiously ate his Yakitori. He could agree the calorie intake was high for a lot of places Itona liked to go, and at first, he had stuck his nose up at how greasy or cheap most of the establishments were, but after a while, he'd admit some of them were nice.

"Do you come here often?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged and picked up another stick from the platter to eat. "It's affordable and the food is nice."

"...You know, you can still use the money in your bank account," his father said, frowning. "I haven't cancelled your card."

Gakushuu tensed, chewing slowly before swallowing. "I know..." He shrugged again. "I'll use it in an emergency."

"But you can use it now, you understand that?" the Principal asked, frowning as he wiped his mouth. "I know things were...not ideal when you ran away."

"A bit of an understatement," Gakushuu muttered.

His father sighed. "But things are different," he told him for what felt like the hundredth time. "I won't force you to come home until you're ready, so in the meantime, I want to make sure you're safe."

He held back a sigh, already growing exhausted by the conversation. "I am safe." He frowned. "You see me every day at school, what more do you need?"

"I'm just worried," his father insisted. "It's not just being able to see you every day. Are you eating properly? A balanced diet is important, and what about your competitions, you haven't attended a single one since you left home."

Gakushuu started to grow uncomfortable again. He had enough on his plate with everything going on with Koro-sensei, why waste time on stupid competitions when the world could end in less than three months? Besides, 3-A needed him as well and he was busy helping them study for entrance exams.

"That's...I'm already attending my main clubs, the competitions can wait." He narrowed his eyes. "You said things would be different now. Or was that and everything else a lie?"

"No, of course not," his father replied quickly. "I just...it's important you don't slip. "

His stomach lurched when he remembered a similar conversation that had left a crack on the living room wall.

 _Things are different now,_ he reminded himself. _Or at least they were supposed to be..._

"I...I do miss you," his father admitted stiffly.

Gakushuu looked away, shifting in his seat. "I..." He swallowed, feeling his chest ache a bit. "I miss you too."

It wasn't a lie...he didn't think at least. There were some things he missed but...living with Itona brought a whole new set of freedom he'd never even imagined. He could eat what he wanted, go where he wanted, do what he wanted without his father scrutinising his personal schedule like a hawk.

He hadn't studied at all on Christmas Day, he'd just spent the day doing some reading and playing video games with Itona and Karma.

"It's quieter without you around..." his father continued.

"The house was always quiet," Gakushuu said stubbornly, trying to ignore the ache in his stomach. "It's not like you bothered making conversation with me unless you were teaching me something or reminding me I was failing."

The Principal grimaced, looking away briefly. "Yes...I know." He smiled feebly. "But I do want to change that..."

The guilt came back again. "I know you do." Gakushuu looked at his father warily. "I want that too. I'm just...cautious, for obvious reasons."

His father nodded, looking down briefly. "Yes, I understand, and an incident like that will never happen again," he reassured him. "I want us to be able to trust each other, son."

Gakushuu stayed quiet. He could barely remember a time he trusted or felt safe around his father. "...That's...optimistic."

His father sighed again. "I meant what I said." He frowned. "I was thinking we could go to therapy together, maybe that would help."

He grimaced, poking at his food. "I already said that was a bad idea."

"If we want things to be better, we need to try new things," his father reasoned diplomatically. "Things outside of our comfort zone."

"...I suppose," Gakushuu replied, feeling the guilt eat away at him, remembering what Itona had said. "I just feel that perhaps...it's a little too soon."

"Too soon?" The Principal looked confused.

His discomfort grew, feeling out of his depth. "Yes..."

"Alright." His father stared at him searchingly. "We can wait then." The frown stayed. "I...you do want to come home eventually, though, son? When you feel comfortable?"

He hesitated for just a second. "Yes," he replied, gripping the stick tight as some of his food slid off. "I do."

His father stayed silent for a while, staring at him and making him feel like he was under a hot light. "I just want you to come home when you feel safe, that's all."

Gakushuu started to lose his appetite. "Yes, I know..."

Another silence settled between them as his father watched him closely. The two of them not even finishing the large platter between them.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked, trying to make conversation again. "You said you were meeting your friends."

"Yes, Ren's arranged something," he replied.

"Is it a party?" his father asked, smiling.

"Yes..." Gakushuu started to grow embarrassed when he didn't really want to tell his father it was a hot tub party with a few girls going as well. "It's just with some friends."

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself," his father replied, thankfully not asking for more details. "Before I forget." He cleaned his hands with the napkin and reached into his pocket. "I got you a card."

Gakushuu tried not to grimace, hoping it wasn't more money. "You didn't have to..." He accepted the card.

"It's your birthday," the Principal replied, frowning a little. "You should at least get a card."

He apprehensively opened the envelope and was relieved that there wasn't any money inside, it was just a normal birthday card. "Thank you..."

His father smiled back, it looked genuine.

***

"Are you sure you don't want a lift to Itona's?" His father asked for the tenth time, standing in front of a familiar black car while Gakushuu waited for the taxi in the parking lot.

"I already ordered the taxi," he replied, frowning.

"Well alright then..." His father hummed, looking around. "...Do you want a hug?"

"What?!" Gakushuu looked at him in alarm, backing away a little.

"I just..." The Principal's face glitched with nervousness. "I thought it would be nice..."

He stayed tense, shifting in discomfort. His thoughts drifting to feeling caged in when his father yelled at him, cracks on the wall, getting hit and then seeing his friends getting the beaten until they were bloody pulps on the office floor.

 _Just say no._ A voice which sounded like Itona muttered.

Gakushuu opened his mouth and then closed it. His father was just trying to be better, so they could have a normal father and son relationship.

"...Okay," he replied numbly.

His father smiled faintly and slowly pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around him.

Gakushuu stayed tense, trying to stay calm when the arms around him felt like hooks. It was just a hug. He shifted slightly when his father hugged in tighter like he wasn't going to let go.

A beep came from behind as the taxi pulled up. "...I need to go," he muttered, staying still while his father still held him a little longer.

"Of course..." His father unembraced him, patting his shoulders as he moved away. "Have a good birthday."

"Yeah..." Gakushuu nodded, wandering to the taxi. "Have a good New Year," he muttered, hurrying into the taxi. Only relaxing when the door was firmly closed.

***

Itona was busy racing a tank around the apartment when Gakushuu came in. "Hey."

"Hi..." Gakushuu dumped the leftovers from the diner on the kitchen counter. "I brought leftover Yakitori."

"Thanks." Itona kept his gaze on the tank. "How was the movie?"

"He decided it would be a good idea to watch a re-released documentary on Penguins," Gakushuu replied dryly grabbing a can of cherry soda from the fridge. "We got kicked out before it finished."

The other boy arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

Gakushuu shrugged, drinking from the can. "Just a disagreement." He sat down next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Running some testing, I improved the speed," Itona replied. "I'm working on building a spy drone—you can help if you want."

"Okay." Helping him build robotics was fun, he'd always been interested in technology since he did have plans to start a technology company, but learning more of the practical methods was interesting as well. "Is Ritsu helping?"

"Yeah, she's helping me with the designs." Itona smiled slightly. "It'll be good."

Gakushuu hummed, watching the tank race around. "Just so long as it's used for assassination purposes."

Kataoka and the rest of the girls had already complained about the tank being used to look up girls' skirts.

Itona just shrugged. "So, how was your dad?"

"He was okay." Gakushuu stared at the tank. "He wants me to come home. I can tell he's getting impatient."

"Did you say anything?"

He half-shrugged. "I said it was too soon for some things, but I did say I did want to move back when I was comfortable."

Itona looked at him curiously. "And did you mean it?"

"Yes." Gakushuu fidgeted with the can. "At least I think I did." He sipped the drink some more. "Then he hugged me."

Itona actually looked surprised. "Oh..." His brow furrowed. "...What was that like?"

Gakushuu grimaced, bringing his knees up to his chin. "Uncomfortable." Like he was being suffocated. "I can't say I liked it, but he's trying his best."

"...You know, you don't have to hug him or do things at his pace just because he says so." Itona's frown stayed, manoeuvring the tank. "You should be careful."

"Yes, I know." Gakushuu started to grow annoyed. "I'm not an idiot, I know how he can be, but he is trying to be better."

"He's still a manipulative and controlling person," Itona muttered, pressing the controls of the remote. "Even if he's trying to change."

Gakushuu sighed, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. It all felt like a balancing act trying to keep his father at an arm's length and also try to fix the skyscraper length of unresolved issues they had in the meantime.

It didn't exactly help that his father was one extreme to the other. It had always been the main thing that had kept him on guard growing up, treading carefully as his father's pleasant smile could switch to something cold and detached in a blink.

"Hey, come on." Itona nudged him, distracting him from his thoughts. "Help me get started building the drone." He stood up, turning the controller off. "I want to get some work done before the party tomorrow."

Gakusuu felt some of his anxiousness fade. "Fine. But there's some reading I want to catch up on later."

"That sounds boring, Itona replied bluntly, picking up the tank.

He scowled. "At least it doesn't get oil stains on the floor! I told you to clean up the kitchen yesterday."

"It's my house." Itona casually put the tank on the kitchen counter, even though it wasn't supposed to go there. "I'm not even charging you rent."

Gakushuu's eye twitched. "Who do you think cleans up your mess?!"

"Beats me." Itona shrugged, grabbing a cherry soda can from the fridge while Gakushuu grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. 


	3. Are you Jealous?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Merry Christmas Folks, to all who celebrate it!

Gakushuu dipped his feet in the hot steaming water as he hung out in the hot tub of the pool area. The glass ceiling above was steaming up, blocking but some of the stars.

Itona sat down next to him eating a hot dog while the others were jumping into the pool. "Are all your friends this rich?"

"Huh?" Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. "Not particularly." He looked around the large space, the expensive stone tiles and glass walls and ceiling of the pool area encasing the room in warmth from the harsh winter outside. "Ren's family just likes to show off."

Itona hummed, looking around warily.

Seo and Koyama hadn't been able to make it since they'd been dragged to visit their relatives in the country; Seo had been texting his complaints in the group chat. So Araki was self-consciously lingering by the pool watching their classmates Kanada, Satsuki, and Miura play in the pool with floating toys against Fuwa and Nakamura.

Karma was eating from the platter of food in the corner along with Terasaka, Nagisa, and Takebayashi. The whole room was warm, with a large fireplace at the far end, making it feel like summer with everyone in shorts and t-shirts.

"Does Sakikabara throw parties like this for you a lot?" Itona asked.

Gakushuu shrugged, watching as Ren came back with a large box of soft drinks. "More or less, though I don't ask." He frowned a little the more he thought about it. "He's...he's just a good friend."

Ren had been arranging birthday parties for him since he was ten when Gakushuu had said his dad no longer bought him birthday presents.

Itona hummed, eating his hot dog. "I figured."

"Hey, I got more drinks!" Ren dumped them on the table.

"Oh, thanks." Nagisa smiled, eating some snacks off his plate. "How did you get so much food for the party?"

"My step-mom owns catering business," Ren replied easily. "She gets really busy around this time of year so she let me have all the leftovers." He walked over to where Gakushuu was. "Just wait until you see your cake."

The corner of Gakushuu's lips curved up slightly. "Is it any more ridiculous than last year's?"

Ren grinned, scooting in between him and Itona. "Hopefully, I asked her to outdo herself this year."

"Asano, Ren! Come join us!" Satsuki teased, wearing a bikini that reminded Gakushuu a little too much of Bitch-sensei's wardrobe.

"Yeah!" Kanada cheered. "Why are all the boys over there?"

Ren grinned. "Hey, Araki, you heard them! Get in!" he yelled, causing Araki to flush.

"I just ate!" Araki spluttered, growing redder.

"No you didn't, Karma replied, wandering over to them.

"Shouldn't the food ideally not be in the pool area?" Takabayashi commented, sitting next to Itona.

Ren didn't look concerned, sinking into the hot tub. "The cleaners will sort out any mess."

"Are they going to spoon feed us as well?" Itona commented dryly.

Ren chuckled, smile not quite meeting his eyes. "If you want."

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and sank into the hot tub when Karma, Terasaka, and Nagisa got in.

"When are we opening gifts?" Karma asked, looking suspiciously eager.

"Later." Gakushuu narrowed his eyes. "And you better not have given me some weird spices."

The red-head grinned. "Don't be ungrateful, Asano-chan!"

"Don't call me that!" Gakushuu snapped while the others looked amused.

Terasaka splashed them when he joined them in the hot tub. "You better like my gift!"

Gakushuu sighed. "I assure you, even if I dislike your gift, I'll still pretend to express gratitude."

"Um, but isn't that just faking it?" Nagisa commented.

"Your point?" he replied dryly.

"Count yourself lucky we got you gifts considering how much of a snob you can be," Nakamura challenged, coming over with Fuwa.

"You better give my gift a chance." Fuwa sat next to Itona on the edge of the tub.

Nakamura smirked, scooting next to Karma in the water. "If he doesn't we'll just drown him."

"Unlikely." Gakushuu scowled when Karma and Nakamura looked devious. "I'll have my lawyers sue you."

"Are you guys just going to hang out here?" Satsuki looked annoyed, walking over with Miura in tow.

"It's a hot tub part, we're in the hot tub," Itona commented.

"What's Kanada and Araki doing?" Takebayashi questioned, as they looked over; Kanada was sitting on the poolside with Araki talking about something.

"Flirting." Miura grinned, splashing into the hot tub. "It's cute."

Ren grinned. "I am a great matchmaker." He nudged Gakushuu. "Think I could set Seo up with someone better than Tsuchiya—? They've broken up again."

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. "How long this time?"

"Two weeks—he's an emotional wreck," Satsuki said dryly, rolling her eyes.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they'll be back together soon."

Ren chuckled. "Yeah, probably." He stretched, smiling coyly. "I thought Kanzaki was coming, Nakamura?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell would she want to be near your womanizing scumbag ass?"

"Hey!" Ren looked affronted while the rest of 3-E laughed and Gakushuu tried not to smile. "I'm not a scumbag!"

"Funny how you don't deny the womanising part." Fuwa laughed.

"Ren's not bad," Satsuki argued, frowning, sidling up to him to kiss his cheeks. "He's just a romanticist!" She smirked and cupped his face. "I think it's cute."

"Thanks, Satsuki." Ren kissed her, exchanging tongues and causing the others to recoil.

"Ew." Nakamura made a gagging noise. "Stop!"

"I'm going to be sick," Itona said blandly.

"Me too..." Nagisa grimaced.

Gakushuu looked disgusted, growing annoyed. "Ren! Stop, I'm losing my appetite!"

Ren and Satsuki pulled away, grinning like it was hilarious. "But it's a new year!"

"Yeah, Asano, come on have some fun it's your birthday!" Satsuki teased, making him uncomfortable when she leaned against him.

Gakushuu tried to hide his revulsion. "Satsuki, you're embarrassing yourself."

She scowled, glaring at him in offence; she wasn't an ugly girl, far from it she was one of the few attractive girls in the class, with long brown hair and a pretty pointed face. He just didn't like her forwardness.

"Don't be rude!" She whacked his arm, causing him to scowl. "Just because you've never been kissed."

"That isn't relevant to anything," he shot back defensively.

"You've never been kissed, Asano?" Nakamura started to smirk.

Karma's eyes glinted. "Sixteen years and no hits under your belt?"

Gakushuu tensed, eyes widening when he saw the wicked looks on Karma and Nakamura's faces. "Come any closer and you'll be spending the evening at the bottom of the pool."

"Sounds fun." Karma was grinning.

"How have you not been kissed after dealing with Bitch-sensei?" Terasaka barked out a laugh. "You been avoiding her or something!?"

Gakushuu scowled. "Like I'd let that predator anywhere near me!"

"Bitch-sensei?" Miura frowned, looking confused.

_Oh..._

"Uh..." Nagisa gave a nervous laugh. "That's just a nickname."

"No shit." Satsuki scrutinised them. "Wait, is she that blonde woman who came to our assembly in semester one?"

Ren's gaze lit up. "Yeah, the hot one." He smirked. "Now that was a woman."

"And clearly out of your league," Fuwa shot back, causing him to glare.

"Why do you call her Bitch-sensei?" Muira asked.

"Because she's our bitch," Takebayashi commented.

Gakushuu snorted and had to cover his mouth while the rest of 3-E burst out laughing.

Miura, Ren, and Satsuki exchanged confused looks.

"So what...she's a bitchy teacher?" Satsuki asked.

"Yeah, but we love her," Nakamura said, shrugging.

"Well, what's her real name them?" Ren asked.

"Eh, Ms Jelavic or whatever," Terasaka replied, stretching. "It's hard to pronounce."

"...Isn't that Croatian or Slavic?" Ren asked shrewdly.

Gakushuu stiffened, his amusement disappeared when he realised the mistake. "Yes, it is," he said quickly, knowing his classmates were horrible liars. "She's a specialist in languages since 3-E's teacher is lacking."

"...Since when did the Principal care enough to hire a specialist to teach 3-E something?" Satsuki asked, frowning.

_Damn._

Gakushuu stayed composed. "From what I can gather she was a friend of Ms Yukimura, and after she went missing she...came to teach E Class to honour her memory."

"Yeah!" Nagisa smiled nervously. "Ms Yukimura had a lot of friends!"

"...Oh." Ren looked unconvinced, staring at Gakushuu intently. "That's interesting."

Gakushuu shrugged. "Yes, well, this year has been unconventional."

"That's one word for it," Miura said, staring at 3-E curiously. "There has been some weird stuff this year."

"Yeah, Asano." Satsuki leaned against the tub edge, narrowing her eyes. "You were pretty suspicious about it as well. Didn't you say your dad was up to something?"

"Yes, well, when isn't my father up to something?" Gakushuu replied, shrugging. "From my research, I do believe it's linked to some kind of fraud, but I don't have enough evidence."

Satsuki hummed, eyeing him suspiciously. "Yeah. I guess...doesn't really explain all those octopus sightings though."

Fuck.

"Yeah, what were those about?" Ren arched an eyebrow. "Wasn't there a story about it again with the underwear thief?"

"And also..." Miura looked over at 3-E who were quiet. "Remember in that assembly? There were three teachers, Mr Karasuma the guy in the suit, the hot foreign woman, and then there was that weird fat bald teacher who just showed up?"

"Yeah, that guy looked weird?" Satsuki wrinkled her nose. "Also kind of strange we never saw him again."

"He was probably fired!" Fuwa gave a nervous laugh which just raised the suspicion more. "You know how the Principal can be!"

"Right," Ren commented, looking at Gakushuu pointedly, but he kept his expression passive while something flashed I Ren's eyes for a second; frustration or more suspicion? "Anyway—looks like Araki and Kanada are having a good time."

They all looked over to find Kanada and Araki kissing on the pool edge.

"Aw, so cute!" Nakamura teased, holding back a laugh.

Karma gave a wolf whistle, the sound echoing and causing the two to break apart and blush when they saw their audience.

"Guys!" Araki complained, turning red along with Kanada who hid her face in her hands.

Gakushuu relaxed slightly when the questions stopped and everyone turned their teasing to Araki and Kanada.

***

"What even is this?" Gakushuu held up Fuwa's gift which was a thick Manga volume titled 'One Piece Volume 1'.

"The gateway to something amazing." Fuwa grinned, all of them changed out of their swimwear and were in the lounge which was full of cushions and had a large TV on the wall with a Karaoke machine hooked up; which Ren wouldn't stop hinting at they should use.

Gakushuu arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"It is a good manga," Takebayashi said, smirking.

"Yeah!" Fuwa grinned. "Trust me, you'll love it."

Gakushuu hummed, briefly skimming through the pages; it looked interesting. "I see. Thank you." He placed the manga on the pile of presents.

"Mine next!" Karma was grinning which was never a good sign.

Gakushuu cautiously took the gift, growing more suspicious when Nakamura grinned as well. "It better not be something disgusting..."

Karma placed his hand on his chest. "You really think I'd do that on your birthday?"

"Yes." Gakushuu and the rest of 3-A said. "Fine." He sighed and opened the gift, his eyes widening when he saw it was an Optimus Prime toy.

"I figured he was your favourite since you're a diehard fan," Karma said while Gakushuu's cheeks started to heat up.

_Damn them!_

Gakushuu took a deep breath to calm his embarrassment.

"Woah, that takes me back." Ren seemed to find it funny, picking up the toy. "Remember when we used to watch the cartoon when we were kids?"

_You're not helping, Ren!_

"Yes," Gakushuu replied tightly, struggling to hide his embarrassment when Satsuki and Araki chuckled. "But that was a very long time ago, I haven't watched it in years."

"We re-watched the movie last week," Itona commented blankly.

_Damn it, Itona!!!_

"...Yes, well..." Gakushuu cleared his throat, putting the gift to the side. "It will make a good collector's item in a few years."

"Glad you like it," Karma chimed with faux sweetness.

_Bastard._

Gakushuu quickly moved onto the final two gifts, picking up Ren's first, it was a rock-climbing trip. "Thanks." He smiled faintly, remembering when they'd both been in the rock climbing club when they were ten. "Are we opting for winter or summer?"

Ren grinned, stretching on the cushion. "Well, I'm cautious about freezing to death, so I was opting for summer."

His smile grew. "Very well." Feeling a small glimmer of excitement. "It sounds agreeable."

"You guys go rock climbing?" Nakamura asked.

"Yes." Gakushuu's smiled grew. "Though, Ren is lacking in the skill department."

Ren threw a cushion at him. "How do you know I haven't secretly been getting better?"

"Yeah, probably not as much as Asano," Fuwa joked, causing the rest of 3-E to laugh.

Ren looked confused faintly by the joke. "Huh?"

"It's nothing," Gakushuu replied dismissively, picking up the final gift which was from Itona. It was bulky and wrapped a little half-hazardly. "When did you wrap this?"

"When you were sleeping." Itona shrugged, watching him carefully like he was nervous.

Gakushuu didn't comment on the nervousness and opened the gift, ripping away the wrapping paper and was confused when he found what looked like his laptop inside, except it was bulkier and heavier with the bottom shell replaced with something different.

"I modified it," Itona said, fidgeting with the thread of the pillowcase while the others looked at the device curiously. "So your dad can't...you know..."

Gakushuu stared at him and then the laptop, feeling a weird gratitude he wasn't used to. "Oh..." He held the laptop tighter. "Thank you."

Itona smiled slightly. "It's faster than before with more memory and he won't be able to hack into it."

He held the laptop close. "Impressive," he remarked, his smile growing. "Practical as always." His smile wavered when he glanced at Ren and realised the boy wasn't smiling anymore.

Ren caught his gaze and quickly plastered on a carefree smile. "Wow, that's pretty cool." He swung his arm around Gakushuu a little forcefully; Itona's gaze narrowed a fraction."Okay, guess gifts are over—Gakushuu, come see your cake!"

Gakushuu's brow furrowed slightly since Ren only tended to address him by his first name in private. "Very well." He placed the gift down and was practically pulled over to the table where the cake was covered by a metal tin. "I'm not making a wish."

"We're still singing happy birthday," Nagisa said in amusement.

"Yeah!" Fuwa teased as they gathered around the table. "Better get your birthday hat on."

Ren looked excited and took off the metal lid, revealing a cake in the shape of a first-place golden trophy with a candle moulded in the shape of the number sixteen and looked bigger than Karma's ego.

It was embarrassingly ridiculous but...well, he was a little touched.

"You can never just make a simple cake?" Gakushuu said dryly, trying not to smile.

Ren crossed his arms as he shrugged. "I like to show off."

"No shit." Nakamura took a photo of the came on the phone along with the others; Itona stayed a little further back for some reason. "This is cool."

"Asano-chan's little trophy," Karma teased.

Gakushuu glared at him. "It still isn't too late to drown you, Akabane."

"It's a really nice cake," Nagisa said, looking impressed.

"Yeah, nice job, Ren," Miura praised.

"I am an amazing party planner." Ren grinned, patting Gakushuu on the shoulder. "Maybe I should make a career out of it."

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling you'd enjoy it a little too much."

Ren's smile was crooked. "Maybe. Anyway, come on." He lit up the candle. "We're gonna sing whether you make a wish or not."

Gakushuu sighed, shifting uncomfortably when they started to sing.

"Happy birthday to you!" Terasaka deliberately sang out of tune. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!"

Gakushuu rolled his eyes, trying not to smile as they sung, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.

When they finally finished singing he quickly blew out the candles, refusing to make a wish a the flames were blown out.

***

"...So how long have you and Ren been friends?" Itona asked during the night while he was half-asleep in the apartment.

Gakushuu kept his face buried in his pillow. "We've known each other since we were seven," he replied dismissively. "And he's been an annoyance since the beginning."

He remembered being overwhelmed by the boy at first since Ren had always been outgoing and chatty, while he'd opted for a more reserved approach to things.

"Oh..." Itona replied quietly.

Gakushuu frowned at his tone, lifting his head slightly. "Why are you asking anyway?"

"...I was just curious," Itona replied lightly. "It doesn't matter. Night."

The other boy fell silent, leaving Gakushuu awake to ponder what he'd said and the brief wavering of Ren's smile.

***

"I think I can get us discount from the counter girl," Ren said as they sat down in the booth of the sushi bar near the conveyer belt where different dishes were travelling passed. "She looked interested."

Gakushuu sighed. "Ren, she looks thirty—it's illegal."

Ren frowned, slumping a little. "It'd only be for a discount, it's not like I'd kiss her."

He shook his head in exasperation. "You do realise you're going to end up dead one day because you've bitten off more than you can handle."

Ren looked amused. "I'll still be having a good time though."

Gkaushuu sighed, knowing it was an argument he didn't have the patience for. "Just don't start thinking because exams are over that you can slack off," he said sternly. "We still have to help the others with entrance exams."

Ren nodded, taking a tub off the conveyer belt. "Since when have I ever slacked off?"

"The first year, second term midterms," Gakushuu replied instantly, taking some nigiri off the conveyer belt. "You landed in 20th place."

Ren gave a sheepish smile. "Uh...Well, yeah, but to be fair there were a lot of cute girls in our class. Remember when Kanzaki was in 1-A?"

"Yes, I recall." Gakushuu picked up his chopsticks and poured some wasabi on his sushi. "She was the centre of attention." He hadn't spoken to Kanzaki a lot in their first year and she'd been moved down shortly after in second year, but he remembered the boys in class always talking to her while she'd remain shy. "Though considering you were the pursuer it wasn't the girls fault you were the one distracted."

"Yeah, I guess." Ren chuckled. "What can I say? I'm a lover."

"Not the word I'd use," Gakushuu replied.

"Shame nearly all the cute girls ended up in E Class," Ren looked disappointed. "You were so lucky. Did you ever try dating—"

"No." Gakushuu rolled his eyes. "Now drop the subject."

Ren smirked. "Okay, okay, I was just asking. Nakamura seems fun."

"She'd tear you to pieces," Gakushuu remarked dryly. "The girls in that class are not to be trifled with, Kanzaki included." The corner of his lip curved upwards when he recalled the times he'd seen the girls attack Maehara and Okajima for their perverted actions.

Ren stared at him curiously. "Well, yeah, they seem interesting..."

His brow furrowed faintly when he detected something odd in Ren's tone. "They are." There was a pause. "Is something wrong?"

"What?" Ren looked surprised. "No, why would it?"

Gakushuu's gaze narrowed a fraction, remembering his classmates' invasive questions at the party. "There's something you obviously want to ask me, you and some of the others were acting odd at the party."

Ren's expression stiffened, carefully controlled. "...You were the one who thought there was a big secret surrounding 3-E, and after going there, you come back like there never was something odd in the first place."

"Because there wasn't anything of note to report," Gakushuu replied lightly. "The only odd thing was how many friends of Ms Yukimura there were to fill in the position."

"Yeah, but that's another thing," Ren said carefully, his brow furrowed. "Ms Yukimura's whole disappearance." He ate some of his sushi, taking his time. "Araki did some investigating and she's marked as dead, but the cause of death is just stated as an accident, nothing else." His frown grew. "And there's her sister...who looks a lot like Haruna Mase who Kaede Kayano in 3-E looks a lot like."

Gakushuu kept his cool, sipping some water. "Well, plastic surgery is a thing. Though look alike aside, what are you trying to say?"

His friend started to look irritated. "I don't know, but it's a little strange. Everything that's happened this past year is strange, but the thing that's bothering me and everyone else the most is that you don't seem to find any of this strange any more."

Gakushuu maintained Ren's stare, tapping his finger against the table. "A thorough thought process, but either way, if I thought there was anything important to report to the rest of you, I would have."

"Yeah, you keep saying..." Ren stayed quiet for a while, eating his sushi and not looking at him. "...You don't seem to have an issue with sharing things with E Class though."

Gakushuu tensed a little, keeping a grimace off his face. "I don't have time for jealousy, Ren, not from A-Class or you," he said sternly, causing the boy to bristle and look defensive. "I came back to 3-A because you're my classmates and my first priority." His gaze narrowed. "I studied and worked to get back to the top spot for the others and _you_."

Ren looked away guiltily at that. "I know you—"

"Then trust me," he stressed, growing more irritated. "You're...you're my friends," he admitted, catching the boy by surprise. "And while I may like 3-E, I was in Class A first."

Something in the back of his head conflicted when Koro-sensei came forefront, but he pushed it to the side, ignoring it.

Ren's expression softened a little, placated. "Look I'm sorry, it's just everyone was worried. I guess some of them are afraid you'll leave again and go back to 3-E."

"Believe me, Akabane alone being in that class is enough to make me stay in 3-A," Gakushuu repaid dryly.

Ren chuckled faintly, starting to smile again. "He does seem kind of a lot to handle."

"He and Nakamura are demons," he replied gravely. "I'm lucky I escaped with my sanity intact."

Ren laughed properly this time. "Yeah, I kind of guessed." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry for being paranoid. I'm just happy to have you back, we all are."

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. "You really need to work on this co-dependence issue, Seo is annoying enough with Tsuchiya."

"Hey, they're a lost cause, just let them get married and be miserable together," Ren joked.

"They are perfect together." Gakushuu smiled in amusement, drinking his water.

Ren laughed again. "Yeah." He grabbed another sushi tub from off the conveyer belt. "Anyway, I hope the interrogation didn't ruin the party for you."

Gakushuu arched an eyebrow. "Considering the fire department had to get involved on my thirteenth birthday, I think this as a success."

Ren snorted. "Your dad was so pissed off when he had to pick you up."

"Yes, he did threaten to ban me from ever seeing you again." Gakushuu rolled his eyes while Ren's smile wavered. "Though I did point out to him that would be difficult since we were classmates."

"The fire wasn't even our fault."

"Well, it was questionably leaving a bunch of thirteen-year-olds in charge of a firework show."

Ren shrugged, eating more sushi. "The maids supervised."

"They barely knew what they were doing."

"It was still funny though," Ren replied.

Gakushuu shrugged. "Well it was interesting, let's just agree on that." He looked at Ren curiously when he saw the boy smile fondly. "I do appreciate the parties..." He cleared his throat when Ren's eyes widened. "It's a tradition I find...considerate."

Ren's smile grew warmer. "Thanks."

***

It was the first day back from school from the winter break and so far things seemed to be smoothing over, or at least Ren seemed more relax and wasn't asking him more questions he didn't have the answer to.

"Ugh, I'm hungry," Koyama complained when class broke out for lunch.

"We hitting the cafeteria?" Araki asked, gathering around Gakushuu desk as he tidied away his books. "I forgot my lunch."

"Yeah, the one my mom made is gross," Seo said, wrinkling his nose.

Ren snorted. "Your mom still makes your lunches?"

Seo's cheeks tinted. "Yeah, so what?"

"She doesn't trust him in the kitchen," Gakushuu drawled, standing up with his bag. "He nearly flooded the place last time."

"No, I didn't!" Seo snapped while the others laughed.

Gakushuu shared a smirk with Ren as they walked down the hallway. "Well, it's what she told us."

"Yeah, your mom ends to complain a lot," Araki teased.

Seo scowled and hit his arm. "Shut up."

Gakushuu smothered a snort but felt his smile fade when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw a text message from Itona, Nagisa, Fuwa, and a few of the others.

'Class Meeting: IMPORTANT! Lunchtime near the woods.'

Ritsu popped up on the screen wearing large shades. "Psst! The others are waiting for you up on the mountain."

"What?" Gakushuu whispered, falling back while his friends were still talking. "Why what's going on?"

"It's about Koro-sensei," Ritsu whispered, looking worried. "It's really important and the others want you there."

Gakushuu sighed, looking at his phone and then his friends. "Can't you just update me later?"

"Nagisa wants you involved in the discussion," Ritsu said, frowning.

He felt a rise of frustration but tried t bury it. They were the ones who knew Koro-sensei's backstory and they were still duty-bound to their mission, it was their shared bond.

"Asano?" Ren called, the four of them stopped down the hallway and staring at him.

Gakushuu stuffed his phone in his pocket, hesitating when he remembered their conversation a few days ago. "I have a meeting with my father," the lie slipped out before he could stop it. "He's been nagging me to have lunch with him since morning."

"Oh." Ren's brow furrowed faintly. "Okay, well, I guess we'll see you in class?"

"Yes." Gakushuu started to walk away. "I won't be long." He was already halfway down the hallway going in the opposite direction to them.

***

"Wow, talk about tardiness," Karma teased, casually relaxed against a tree while the rest of the class were gathered in the clearing of the woods.

Gakushuu leaned against the tree for support, out of breath. "Why couldn't you have the meeting after school?!"

Some of the others looked amused while Nagisa smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Asano, but this is really important and I wanted everyone here."

Terasaka whacked Gakushuu on the back. "You're still an honouree member, Mr Perfect!"

Gakushuu glared at him. "Just hurry up. I have a busy schedule."

"Okay." Nagisa took a deep breath, looking nervous. "Well, I've been doing some thinking and...instead of killing Koro-sensei, I think we should save him!"

Gakushuu stiffened, feeling something twist in his chest as he stared at Nagisa like he'd misheard. Like he hadn't just heard the boy casually say they should toss away months of planning, hard work, and duty because the reality had been shoved in their faces.

"Apologies," Gakushuu interrupted when some of them started to agree naively. "But I think I must have misheard." He narrowed his eyes, the air around them turning cold. "Did you just say we should _save him_?"


	4. This is more important

Everyone drew silent when he spoke up, the mood shifting to something tenser.

“Well, yeah,” Nagisa said, shifting on the spot. “I think we should save him. That’s how I feel…”

“How you feel is irrelevant,” Gakushuu said sternly, growing more irritated. “You can’t make a statement like that without weighing the proper consequences.” He looked at the others. “Have any of you even debated this?”

Nagisa’s shoulders hunched. “Uh, well…”

“I hate to say it, but Asano’s right,” Nakamura agreed, standing alongside him. “I thought we were going to discuss this as a class after winter break?”

“How would we even save him?” Muramatsu asked, frowning.

“Yeah, is it even doable?” Terasaka frowned. “We get that you want to save him but where would we start?”

Nagisa faltered more. “Well, I don’t have a plan but…” His brow furrowed. “After learning about his life and what he had to go through—”

“That’s a whole other debate,” Gakushuu replied, frowning. “If we’re discussing whether he deserves to live or not, then we also have to take into account his crimes and the people he’s killed.”

That made more of them start to look unsure.

Nakamura sighed. "Look, we're assassins, he's the target. That's our bond. Koro-sensei said so himself. I don't know about you, but I cherish that bond. Think about it - not killing him would defeat the purpose."

“He wants us to be the ones to kill him, that’s what he’s training us for,”Hazama argued, leaning against a tree. “So what if we run out of time because we’re busy trying to create a whole new plan to save him?”

Terasaka looked annoyed. “Yeah, you want his last moments to be that he thinks his students are a bunch of dumbasses?!”

“Not quite eloquently put, but still true,” Gakushuu replied curtly. “Koro-sensei has invested the last year of his life in us, and you want to just throw that away?”

“No!” Nagisa looked panicked. “Of course not!” He grimaced. “But we owe it to him…”

Gakushuu’s eyes narrowed. “We _owe_ it to him to make sure he didn’t waste his time!”

"Always the talented ones, huh." The class turned to look at Karma as he spoke. "Figuring whatever the odds, in the end, things will always work out." He smirked, but he appeared to be provoking his classmate rather than showing amusement. "Wow, listen to you. Getting a tad full of yourself there, chief."

"Huh?" Nagisa said.

"Granted, you're the most gifted one in our class, but seriously." Karma began walking toward him, his facial expression was dangerously close to a glare. "We should just up and scrap the whole assassination plan? What about the underdogs? Those of us who work ourselves sick just to squeak by on what little talent we have? How are we supposed to feel? You're like a hot chick telling our homely friends there's no point trying to find a man! Course, you don't have a problem with changing the rules; you've already won the game."

A strange analogy but correct.

Nagisa looked insulted, but more saddened by it rather than angered. "That's... that's not what I'm trying to say." He looked down, speaking quietly. "Besides, I'm not the gifted one. Between you and me, you're the better assassin."

Gakushuu looked at him in disbelief, remembering when they’d broken into the lab and the blue-haired boy had tazered two guards before any of them could blink.

There was no doubt Nagisa was the most gifted one in class.

Karma’s gaze narrowed, his normally calm expression cracking. "Okay, hearing you talk like that just pisses me off even more. You know what your problem is, Nagisa? You've got no respect for how hard this is for everyone that isn't you!”

Gakushuu’s eyes widened in surprise.

Well, this is an interesting development.

Nagisa looked shocked. "Whoa, whoa! Where is this coming from? I'm just telling you how I feel! Do you have an axe to grind with Koro-sensei or something?" This seemed to make Karma looked angrier. "He took us to the movies! He's made learning fun!"

"That's my point, why do you think he bothered, huh?!" Karma shouted angrily.

“Well, this is escalating quickly,” Gakushuu commented, staring at the two supposed friends in surprise. “Have they done this before?” He asked Nakamura who was watching in alarm. “Or is this new?”

Nakamura frowned. “They’ve never been like this before.”

“And look at you!” Karma was yelling now, causing everyone else to grow more on guard as they watched this train wreck of a friendship.“Assassinating him is what this entire class is based on; you're just trying to find a loophole!" His voice suddenly quieted down. "You want to undermine what Koro-sensei has done, or do you have the mind and the body of a ten-year-old?"

Gakushuu’s eyes widened. “Oh…”

The other’s sucked in a breath.

_Well…_

_That was a low blow._

Everyone stayed silent and kept their eyes on Nagisa who had tensed, a dark look overshadowing his features.

Rather than backing down, this just seemed to rile Karma up more. "Huh, what's with that look?" he provoked, his voice eerily calm. "Aww, the itty bitty mouse wanna roar? Feel like he could take on a lion?"

Nagisa looked to the ground. His glare was gone and a defeated expression had replaced it. "No, I-"

Karma slammed his hand into Nagisa's shoulder hard that he stumbled back.

Gakushuu watched them warily, the entire exchange was personal to the point he was starting to question if this was really about Koro-sensei to begin. Either way, things had gotten out of control and considering how chaotic Karma could be, it would just get worse.

"Got something to say? Kick my ass for once, and you can say whatever you like." Karma held out his hand. When Nagisa didn't respond, he slammed it into his other shoulder. "Oh, don't be shy, what are you afraid of?!"

“Akabane, stop,” Gakushuu snapped, growing irritated. “This isn’t solving anything.”

“Yeah! Come on let’s calm down and just talk about this,” Kanzaki said, looking worried.

Karma didn’t stray his gaze from Nagisa, pushing the boy’s shoulder again. “He brought us here to settle things, so let’s settle this.”

“I doubt a violent alteration is settling things!” Gakushuu replied impatiently, crossing her arms.

“Exactly!” Isogai stepped forward. “We’re not here to fight each other, we’re all on the same side!”

That was definitely not the case considering how bad things were going.

“That’s debatable since half of you want to throw away everything we’ve been working for,” Gakushuu replied testily, looking at Isogai accusingly.

“That’s not true!” Kayano snapped.

“Yes, it is!” Yoshida looked annoyed. “Nagisa just mentioned about saving Koro-sensei and suddenly everyone’ jumping on board without talking about it first!”

“That’s not it!” Nagisa yelled, looking around in alarm.

Karma pushed him. “Then what the hell is it?!” He grabbed Nagisa’s but before he could do anything else, though, Nagisa quickly circled Karma's forearm with his own arms for stability and wrapped his legs around Karma's neck.

Karma's eyes widened in both anger and shock before he promptly slammed Nagisa to the ground.

"A flying triangle hold!" Terasaka exclaimed.

Gakushuu’s eyes widened in shock when he saw the fluidity and quickness of the move, he hadn’t seen Nagisa pull a move like that in their PE lessons last term. Unless he’d learned it in private with Mr Karasuma or taught himself

Nagisa gave off more rage than anyone had ever seen from him before. He glared as strongly as he could at Karma, not holding back any emotion from his eyes. "I am not... A WHINY, HALF-ASSED JERK!”

Gakushuu winced when his voiced pierced his ears.

“Stop!” Isogai looked alarmed. “Guys! Calm down!”

“I don’t think they’re listening,” Gakushuu remarked, frowning.

“Uh, then how about we try breaking it up?!” Maehara snapped.

“Guys!” Isogai was the first to rush forward to grab Karma, Maehara following after.

“Asano, help!” Isogai snapped, straining to hold Karma back like he was a raging bull.

Gakushuu sighed when he saw Maehara and Isogai struggle to hold Karma back. “This is ridiculous.” He came up from behind and yanked Karma into a chokehold with his arm. “Have you idiots ever heard of intellectual debates!?”

“GET OFF!” Karma was choking and kicking, as the three boys overpowered him.

Meanwhile, Sugino held Nagisa Back like he was holding a teddy bear.

“Ugh! Karma, chill out already!!” Maehara yelled, digging his feet in the dirt to stay balanced.

Gakushuu felt like he was trying to keep hold of a bull instead of the red-headed idiot. “Enough! This isn’t going to solve anything!”

Koro-sensei's voice rang out across the clearing. "A good old-fashioned schoolyard fight?" Everyone in class stopped and turned to look at him, even Karma and Nagisa. "Outstanding! However, you're the Assassination Classroom." Koro-sensei smoked a pipe and wore a military uniform, holding a machine gun and a pistol. "This is how we settle our differences," he said in his 'soldier voice.'

Gakushuu blinked a few times, still restraining Karma with the others as they processed the guns and the latest inappropriate cosplay the teacher was wearing.

…Wait, what?!

“What?!” Gakushuu shoved Karma away, causing Isogai and Maehara to tumble onto the ground as well. “How is this helping the situation!?”

Koro-sensei took a long drag of his pipe. “Sometimes, boy, you gotta settle this with bullets and smoke…”

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Everyone in the class yelled.

* * *

Thankfully Koro-sensei had meant a simple game of paintball and not actual bullets. The game was a simple capture the flag concept with the save team being blue and the kill team being red, both teams having guns and an arsenal of paint.

Gakushuu grimaced, holding up the gun and red paint, examining the paint in the container. “Why does every problem in the class have to be solved with the most ridiculous method imaginable?”

Nakamura shrugged, her gun already loaded. “You’re still asking that?”

“If you would like to back out, Asano, you can,” Koro-sensei said patiently, causing him and the others to look other.

Gakushuu frowned, clutching the container tight when he saw the time on his watch. Lunch was about to finish, and if he didn’t set off now he would be late for class, and he hadn’t skipped a single day of class in his entire life…

“You’re a part of this decision too, Asano,” Nagisa said, smiling encouragingly as he held up his gun and blue paint. “You’re still one of us.”

“Yeah, we went through shit!” Terasaka said firmly, putting him in a headlock.

Gakushuu scowled, clawing at the chunky arm. “Get off me!” He elbowed the taller boy in the stomach, sending him stumbling back. “That sentiment may be all well and good but I still have class to attend…”

Karma hummed, calmer now and looking more focussed. “Then if that’s more important, go.”

Gakushuu shot him a glare at the guilt trip. “I didn’t say it was _more_ important.”

He grimaced and stared at the paint, he supposed making a decision that could alter the survival of the earth was more important than discussing World History for an hour with a teacher who looked high on caffeine.

Gakushuu glanced at the Red team who had already picked up their weapon’s, and then at the blue team, and then at Koro-sensei… something disgustingly warm and sentimental stirring in his chest.

_Damn them all._

“Fine.” Gakushuu loaded his gun. “But if I get in trouble I’m dragging you all down with me!”

They had the audacity to smile at him.

“Aw!” Terasaka taunted, trying to grab him. “Look who’s gone soft—”

Gakushuu shot him in the leg. “Oops.”

“AH!!” Terasaka winced when the shot of paint hit his shin, clutching his red-stain leg in pain. “YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

“ASANO!” Koro-sensei scolded. “No shooting your classmates until proper battle protective gear is one!”

“What?” Gakushuu shrugged. “My hand slipped.”

* * *

Gakushuu adjusted the spare PE combat uniform they’d given him which was re-painted in camo. It didn’t fit perfectly like the one he had stored at home, but it would do.

“Alright,” he addressed the rest of the team when they were in the woods clearing. “I have a plan—”

“Nope.” Karma stood in front of him, smirking. “Sorry, your highness, but I’m leading this one.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly is that going to go? I wouldn’t trust you to lead us out of a shopping district.”

Hazama laughed or more like cackled.

Nakamura looked amused, sitting on a rock. “Sorry, Asano, but Karma probably is better suited.” Her smile was sly. “He has a hidden talent for it.”

Gakushuu narrowed his gaze warily, scowling when Karma swung an arm around him tight like he was trying to choke him. “Also, no offence, but ‘honouree class member’ status doesn’t give you leadership rights!”

Asshole.

He looked at the others who weren’t protesting and then at Itona who just nodded, meaning he was overruled here.

Gakushuu tried to kick him. “Fine.” He shoved him off, causing Karma to grin. “What is the plan then?”

Karma’s gaze glinted with something devious. “We use their strength and weaknesses against them.” He picked up a twig and bent down to draw something in the dirt when they gathered around. “We’ll start off dividing it up into three points.” He did the markings in the dirt. “Mimura is on eyesight.” Mimura looked surprised but nodded nevertheless. Terasaka, Muramatsu, and Yoshida will defend this chokepoint. The rest of you will be in teams of three to four or less.”

Gakushuu’s brow furrowed, listening carefully, masking his surprise as Karma talked trough the main strategy clearly.

“Nakamura, Asano, you guys are my second and third in command,” Karma said, smirking at the two of them. “Don’t mess up, okay?”

Gakushuu scowled while Nakamura looked amused. “I don’t really plan on it, but Asano over here might get cold feet—he’s out of training," she teased, grinning toothily. 

“No, I’m not,” he snapped.

“Yeah, whatever.” Karma stood up, his smile fading when he looked at them seriously. “Look, we’re all on the same team because we believe killing Koro-sensei is the right thing to do, that means we have to use everything he’s taught us to win this. So don’t mess around, the decisions made here are serious.”

Gakushuu felt something twist in his stomach as the rest of them shared similar grim looks.

“Pfft, the way you’re acting it’s like we’re shooting real bullets.” Terasaka scoffed, seeming to lighten the mood briefly.

Karma smiled crookedly, raising his gun. “Who says I’m not saving them for you?”

Terasaka rolled his eyes. “Whatever, come on let’s get in position.” He grabbed his gun with Yoshida and Muramatsu following.

“The rest of you stand by until I finish giving you your positions.” Karma turned to Gakushuu and Nakamura. “You two with me.”

Gakushuu bristled a little a being ordered around but let it slide considering how serious the situation was. “Let me guess, does part of your plan involve wasabi?”

“Not yet.” Karma brought them further away from the others near a rock. “Bottomline we’re gonna have to sacrifice some from our side to get the job done.”

Gakushuu nodded. “Yes, I assumed that as well.” He rubbed his chin. “Though our skill range is higher than the other team.”

“Which they know,” Nakamura said, kicking a stone. “They’ve got Isogai on their team, which means the majority will be on defence with a selected minority spread out and on offence.”

“Exactly.” Karma sat on a rock. “Nagisa won’t be taking the lead, his best strength is staying hidden and then picking us off.” Something was off about his tone, causing Gakushuu and Nakamura to exchange a look. “Which is why I put Mimura on lookout.”

Gakushuu hummed. “He wouldn’t have been my first choice.”

Karma grinned. “Which is why you’re not the leader.”

He narrowed his eyes, smothering his annoyance and keeping his hands grasped behind his back so he wouldn’t be tempted to hit the other boy. “Nevertheless. While sacrifices are necessary we need to be careful about how we stagger them.”

“The snipers need to be protected,” Nakamura said, crossing her arms. “Hayami and Chiba are key, but Chiba might need to be sacrificed to draw out some of their attackers.”

“Yes, but then all they’ll need to do is get to Hayami and focus their attacks on her,” Gakushuu replied, frowning.

“A sniper still needs to be in a position to protect the flag in case Hayami is taken out first,” Karma commented, rubbing his chin. “I was going to put Okajima and Sugaya with Chiba around the flag area.”

“Regarding Sugaya, his camouflage skills are important, while I think using him as bait would be necessary, we could have him create fake doubles or something close,” Gakushuu suggested, remembering Sugaya’s skills when they were captured by the Reaper 2.0. “It would at least confuse the blue team on our numbers.”

Karma hummed. “Not a bad idea…and if we take out their visual team they’ll be even more blind on our positions.”

“Hey, what about the traps already around the mountain?” Nakamura said. “If we’re going to draw them out with fake doubles we can position them near any traps we set.”

“Yes, but there is the risk a member of the blue team will recognise the trap, especially if they were the one’s who built it,” Gakushuu argued.

She seemed to consider this. “Good point, we’d only be able to use a few then.”

Karma’s brow furrowed more. “Asano, you can lead the first manoeuvre. Stick close to Chiba’s team, on a guess and judging from their members' stats, they’ll probably send Kanzaki out first in an attack manoeuvre, she’s fast enough and has a strong grasp on game strategy.”

“But if she’s acing ahead with no one protecting her then she’s vulnerable,” Gakushuu commented, imagining the strategy. “Very well, I’ll stick close to defence and wait for her. Sugaya will need to start on those decoys, we only have half an hour until Mr Karasuma expects us to all be in position.”

Karma looked amused. “Just don’t die too early, I don’t want you two dying until their numbers are halved.”

Nakamura smirked. “I think we can manage.” She nudged Gakushuu, earning a glare. “Don’t let the side down, Asano.”

He threw her an irritated look. “Out of the two of us, who actually has more experience leading?”

Her eyes glinted wickedly. “Yeah, and out of the two of us, which one of us failed the most?”

Gakushuu’s fingers twitched towards his gun to shoot her, but he fought against it and kept his hands behind his back, knowing it would just end in a fight. “…Let’s just get on with this already.”

“That’s the spirit.” Karma grinned, placing a hand on both their shoulders, earning an annoyed look from Gakushuu and a smirk from Nakamura. “Now come on, let’s start killing.”

* * *

As much as it pained him to admit it, Karma was a good leader, and his understanding of his classmates was brilliant.

Gakushuu aimed his gun in position when he saw Kanzaki approach, she was heading straight towards the decoys set up in-between Chiba’s group; a mesh of leaves and wigs merged together to create something that looked like a member of the red team from a distance, or at least enough to draw her more towards his direction.

The strategy was more ruthless to Isogai’s type of leadership and if this was a real war the consequences would be far more devastating, but it was practical for the task at hand and he could respect it. Hell, the sadist might slowly be earning his respect whether he liked it or not.

Gakushuu sighed and shot Kanzaki before she could shoot Chiba and Okajima, knocking the girl over when the blast of paint hit her side while she was jumping mid-air.

“Nice shot,” Chia said from the earpiece.

"Red team, it's Karma.” Karma’s voice rang through the earpieces. “I'll be taking the lead for the next part. Mimura, are you at the point to Mr Karasuma's right? You should have a visual."

"Copy that," Mimura responded. “I’m near the positon.”

“Terasaka and the stooges,” Karma continued.

“HEY!” Terasaka snapped, causing Gakushuu to roll his eyes. “Stop calling us that!”

"-I want you to move closer in defence at Face Rock. We're screwed if they make it past there, so play it tight."

Terasaka made a grumbling noise and protested in the background but the rest of them ignored him.

“Asano,” Karma’s voice dug into his ear. “I’m going to signal Hazama to go in, she’ll probably get ht but it will draw one of their CQC specialists out. Hang back while she goes in and then advance once she’s taken out with Okano and Kimura following after her.”

Gakushuu stood up. “Copy that.” He put his gun over his shoulder and started manoeuvring through the woods, keeping low and his guard up. “I’m moving into—"

“AHHH!!!” A high pitched scream ripped through the trees.

_What the—?_

“Civilians on the field!” Ritsu yelled from Chiba’s phone from above.

Chiba surveyed from the trees. “What are—Is that Araki?!”

“What?!” Gakushuu looked in alarm, hastily climbing a tree.

“ARAKI, COME BACK!!” _Was that Ren?!_

Gakushuu clambered onto a branch and grabbed his binoculars.

Araki ran passed below being chased by wasps.

“HELP!” Araki was sobbing, running like his life depended on it.

Gakushuu lowered in binoculars and buried his face in his palm.

* * *

“Ceasefire!” Karasuma blew his whistle. “Everyone stay where they are!”

Gakushuu climbed down from the tree. “Idiots.”

“Where are you going?” Okajima asked.

“Finding him before he gets himself killed,” Gakushuu replied impatiently, hurrying after in the direction Araki went. He turned his phone back on.

“What are they even doing here?” Nakamura’s voice sounded in his ear.

“Being interfering morons,” Gakushuu replied in exasperation, following the trail. “Ritsu?”

“He ran into the blue area, two minutes ago towards the cliffs!” Ritsu looked panicked.

“Hey, Asano!” Terasaka sounded annoyed. “Koyama and Seo are drowning in the river? You gonna come get them or you want us to save them?”

_For goodness sake!_

Gakushuu groaned, burying his face in his hand. “Just rescue them before they die.”

_Why were they even here? They were supposed to be in class!_

“Araki!” He yelled, causing a few birds to fly away from the trees.

“HELP!” His friend’s voice was coming from the edge of the cliff, followed by a sob.

Gakushuu sighed and hurried over, his eyes widening when he saw Araki hanging onto a branch for dear life. The fall itself wouldn’t kill him, but it would bruise him up or break a few bones.

“Just hang on,” he said, manoeuvring down.

Araki kept complaining, his hands and neck swelling from wasp stings and his school uniform dirty and ripped in places.

“You guys okay!?” Isogai called, coming over with Maehara and Okuda.

“Oh, yes, _fantastic_.” Gakushuu held onto the edge and tried to grab his friend. “Araki, just grab my hand.”

“I’ll fall!” Araki yelled back.

“We’re not even that high up!” Gakushuu snapped. “Just grab my hand already!”

“Hey hold on.” Isogai climbed down near Gakushuu. “Maehara, go down below with Okuda to help catch him so he doesn’t hit the rocks.”

Gakushuu grabbed onto Isogai’s arm when he reached out so he could edge closer to Araki. “Araki, it’ll be fine, just hurry up.”

Araki made a whimpering noise before shakily reaching out and grabbing Gakushuu’s hand.

Isogai helped him hoist the other boy up the cliff and to safety. “You okay?”

“No!” Araki looked angry, struggling to push himself back onto his feet. “I got chased by wasps and nearly fell off a cliff!”

“Yeah, you probably should have been more careful where you were running,” Maehara climbed back up the cliff with Okuda. “Good thing this one wasn’t too high.”

“What are you even doing here?” Gakushuu dusted himself off. “You’re meant to be in class!”

“So are you!” Araki snapped back, looking angrier. “We came out here to find you! You weren’t even answering your phone!”

Gakushuu tensed. “I…we need to find Koyama and Seo before they get themselves killed!”

Araki’s anger placated briefly when his expression grew worried. “They were arguing about something,” He said as they started to walk through the woods. “So I sat down on a log…except that was where the nest was.” He grimaced and scratched his stung hands. “Can I get some ointment?”

Gakushuu sighed. “Let’s just find the others first.”

When the travelled down to the river where Mr Karasuma was dragging Koyama out of the river while Seo was shivering on the ground while Kanzaki and Sugaya were putting a blanket made of leaves over his shoulder. Teresaka, Yoshida and Muramatsu were standing by Ren. There was a large broken tree branch half-lodged in the river.

“What happened?” Gakushuu asked in exasperation.

“They shoved us in the river!” Seo accused.

“No, we didn’t!” Terasaka looked annoyed. “They were hanging onto the branch to stop themselves from falling in, and we tried to pull hem back, they started arguing and fell in when we tried to grab them!”

“You were carrying guns!” Koyama shouted, panting when he hit the riverbank. “You could have shot us!”

“We said it was paint guns,” Muramatsu replied impatiently.

Mr Karasuma sighed. “Alright that’s enough, everyone settle down.”

“Asano, what is going on?” Ren stepped forward. “Why are you skipping class to play paintball? Why are you all playing paintball in the first place?!”

“We were…” Gakushuu exchanged a look with 3-E. “Conducting a training exercise.”

“Yes, that’s correct.” Mr Karasuma crossed his arms. “It’s a new PE training program.”

Ren, Koyama, Araki, and Seo stared at them like it was bullshit.

“…So this, and _all_ your expensive gear…is for PE class?” Araki questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“…Yes.” Mr Karasuma cleared his throat. “And the Principal assigned Asano to help test the training program.”

“It’s true,” Gakushuu forced himself to say, feeling a part of him die inside. “I’m here to help with their PE class…since I used to assist Mr Karasuma in PE class when I was here last term…”

The amount of bullshit piling up was overpowering.

His friends were silent, and the others in class were looking away in embarrassment.

“…What?” Ren stared at them in disbelief.

“What PE class lasts this long?!” Araki questioned.

_Oh, fuck._

“…It’s a class event,” Gakushuu replied with a straight face.

“That’s bullshit!” Seo replied. “Asano, what the hell is going on?”

“I just told you,” Gakushuu insisted.

“So you decided to leave and skip class to play paintball with 3-E?” Ren replied, making it sound more ridiculous than it already was.

“…It’s a tactile sport,” Gakushuu replied hesitantly.

“Tactile…tactile sport?!” Seo looked like he’d punch him. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“Why can’t you just tell us what’s going on?” Koyama asked, frowning. “You’ve been keeping secrets from us since you got back, and you keep running back to E Class when you’re not even in their class anymore!”

Gakushuu stiffened, feeling the heat of his friends’ gazes grow sweltering. “This…look I already told you the truth. If you don’t believe me then that’s fine, but right now you can’t be here.”

“Then if we’re leaving so should you,” Seo said defensively. “You’re in our class, which right now you’re missing because you’re messing around with these guys.”

“Hey, just back off,” Terasaka said, interfering and making it worse. “This whole thing is private, and even if Asano’s in your class, he’s still one of us.”

“He’s not one of you!” Koyama looked angry. “Stop trying to take him away from us!”

“He’s not a trophy…” Isogai said with a frown.

“Will all of you just be quiet,” Gakushuu felt exhausted. “Listen, the four of you, just go back to class. It may not seem like it but I need to help E Class because it’s important.”

“More important than us?” Seo snapped.

Gakushuu’s chest tightened, sweating a little when he looked at his friends and then 3-E was staring at him expectantly. “…It’s not _more_ important,” he replied carefully. “But it’s still important.”

The silence that followed after felt like a huge weight cast over, as his friends’ expressions grew guarded.

“Fine.” Seo practically spat out. “If you want to play fucking paintball all day, go ahead. We’ll just help the rest of the class study by ourselves since you’re too busy.”

Gakushuu grimaced. “I wouldn’t be doing this unless it was important.” He stepped forward. “Look, just go.”

“Fine.” Ren’s voice was cold, causing the other’s to look over in surprise. “We’ll just leave you to it then.”

Gakushuu felt his stomach twist when he saw them start to leave. The others remained silent as they watched the four boys leave.

“So…” Muramatsu looked unsure. “Are we carrying on with the—?”

“Yes,” Gakushuu replied sharply, already turning away.

* * *

“So…” Karma sat next to him on the rock while they all gathered back into position. “…That was unexpected.”

Gakushuu grimaced, fiddling with reloading the gun. “That’s one word for it.”

Karma hummed, watching him curiously. “So what are you going to say to them after this?”

“Hopefully an excuse better than whatever _that_ was.” He tried to jam the paint stock into the gun and scowled impatiently when it wouldn’t go in. “Though I doubt they’d believe the truth because it’s even more ridiculous.”

“Huh…” Karma raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the rock. “Guess you’re screwed then.”

Gakushuu gave a frustrated sigh, tossing the vial of paint onto the grass. “They’re being immature. The fact I came back to 3-A is evidence enough that they’re a priority,” he said, grimacing. “I can’t tell them the truth.”

“No,” Karma said, frowning a little. “So what are you going to do then?”

Gakushuu stared at the gun, sighing. “I don’t know…” A silence settled between them, the birds flying above. “…What would you do?”

“…Probably mess it up.” Karma dipped the knife into the jar of red paint.

He watched him in interest, remembering the fight with Nagisa. “You did handle things poorly with Nagisa.”

Karma’s eyes narrowed warningly. “You’re not really in a position to judge considering what just happened.”

“You’re the one who started a conversation.” Gakushuu picked up the vial of paint. “And I only counted because it is interesting how that was the first time he publicly stood up to you—he’s normally more docile.” He examined the vile. “Even Ren never spoke to me like that when he’s stood up to me, and that’s very rare.”

Karma stayed quiet for a bit while he reloaded the gun. “…Do you lower your guard around Sakakibara?”

Gakushuu froze as he clicked the vile into place, looking over warily. “…Very rarely.” His brow furrowed briefly when he remembered the last few months. “Though, I suppose I have let it down more recently.” He stared at him curiously. “I have noticed you seem wary around Nagisa. Care to comment?”

Karma looked annoyed, putting the knife back in the holster. “…You’ve seen what he’s capable of. It’s complicated” he replied, sighing. “He’s still my friend, but he’s also the same person who could strangle me from behind before I even realised he got close.” Karma looked grim. “…It’s the same feeling I got with the second Reaper.”

“Yes, I know the feeling…” Gakushuu grimaced, remembering when he’d been younger and hadn’t learned to keep his guard up around his father. “Though considering Ren can barely beat off a bee, I don’t consider him a threat.” He glanced back at Karma. “I can’t say I’m exactly the most ideal friend to him, since he puts up with a lot,” he admitted, remembering the many times he’d manipulated or taken advantage of their friendship. “I have noticed Nagisa seems to put up with a lot as well.”

“Yeah, he does…” the red-head muttered, frowning.

Then Ritsu popped up on their screens. “The game will resume in ten minutes!” She set a timer on the screen. “Everyone get in position.”

Gakushuu stood up, making sure the pain was securely clicked in place before putting the gun behind his back. “Mimura said Nagisa was near the woods when the ceasefire happened but no one’s seen him since.”

Karma nodded, sliding off the rock. “He’s going to remain hidden.” He rubbed his chin. “He’ll be saving his attacks for the most valuable moment or he’ll give away his position.”

“You still have Chiba on main defence,” Gakushuu replied, frowning. “If Nagisa tries to attack and take our flag he’ll reveal his position which means he’ll most likely be on defence protecting the blue flag.”

“The stooges will be in position to attack the flag when I send Nakamura in,” Karma told him, reloading his gun with fresh paint pellets. “The two of us will hang back until their numbers are lower. In the meantime lead the charge in lowering the blue team’s numbers, I need the flag exposed to send Nakamura in, and we’re not going to be able to draw Nagisa out unless we wipe the majority of them out.”

* * *

“Kayano, Maehara, Hara, and Kurahashi are nearing Chiba’s position,” Okano reported as they neared the blue team members, the three of them hanging in the trees as they observed below.

Gakushuu hummed, lowering his binoculars. “Kurahashi and Kayano have the weakest stats…” He frowned. “Maehara is the only one with high combat skills. Though Hara’s long-range skills are just above average.”

“Kurahashi is good at climbing,” Kimura said.

“Hm. Okano, head for Kurahashi and Kayano, we’ll handle Maehara and Hara and then pull back,” Gakushuu ordered.

Okano grinned, stretching her legs. “Race you!” She dived down to attack.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and followed, veering more towards the left with Kimura close behind.

Maehara took out Sugaya with a slice of his knife before the latter could fire and the girls took out Okajima.

The girls took cover while Chiba took aim. They were blocked by the trees so it was hard to get an aim, closer combat to draw them out was the better option considering they had the advantage of their sniper.

Okano dived in first, hitting Kurahashi while Kayano and Hara avoided the blow.

“AH!” Kurahashi yelled, her face covered in red. “No!” Her bottom lip wobbled. “I lost the battle on the Hinas!”

What?

Gakushuu shook his head and joined Kimura in engaging Maehara, slipped his gun over his shoulder as he grabbed his knife.

Maehara was fast and evasive, despite how quick Kimura was.

Chiba took a shot from above but it missed, they were moving too fast.

More surprising was how Kayano was avoiding Okano’s attacks, being light on her feet.

“You were holding back!” Okano sounded impressed as her fight veered into there’s. “Cool.” She bared the knife on her boot. “I’m gonna assume you didn’t just ick these moves up from gym class?”

“I’m an actress.” Kayano ducked and avoided the blows, kicking back. “I take studying for a role very seriously! And I can actually focus!”

“Nice moves, Kayano!” Maehara dived out of the way before Gakushuu could slice at him and barraged inbetween Kayano and Okano mid-kick, slicing Okano across the ribs with a ribbon of blue. “Gotcha!”

“Damn it!” Okano veered back, looking down at the streak of blue.

Maehara grinned. “Told you I was good at avoiding those—” He quickly dived out of the way when Chiba nearly shot him. “Oh, crap.”

“Hey!” Hara came out from the bushes and pummelled into the tree Chiba was on, shaking it.

Kayano dived behind a tree and raised her gun at Chiba while the boy was distracted and shot him, the blue paint hitting his visor.

Gakushuu’s eyes widened in surprise.

_Since when was she an accurate shot?_

Hara yelped when Kimura shot her, which left Maehara and Kayano.

Gakushuu dived behind a rock when Kayano started firing and Maehara raced off. “Well, her shooting has improved drastically.”

“Guess she really was holding back.” Kimura smiled sheepishly.

“Go after Maehara.” Gakushuu aimed his gun. “I’ll cover you.”

“Right.” Kimura ran after the class playboy while Kayano ducked behind the tree when Gakushuu started shooting.

“Well, you certainly kept your skill range hidden.” Gakushuu ducked when she aimed for his head.

“Not that hard when everyone is showing off.” Kayano reloaded and started shooting again. “Especially with you and Karma’s egos competing for room.” She sounded amused. “Besides, those tentacles gave me good kinetic vision, might as well put it to good use!”

The corner of Gakushuu’s lip curled in amusement. “Well, it will make this more entertaining.” He dived over and to cover behind a tree so he was closer. “Akari Yukimura is more interesting.”

She smirked. “I’m offended.” She aimed at him but tensed when the gun clicked. She was out of pellets. “Crap,” she muttered, trying to find more pellets to reload, but he was close enough.

He swapped his long-range for a short-range gun and started shooting while she dived out of the way and took out a knife, charging at him when his gun jammed.

Gakushuu winced when the gun was kicked out of his hand, making a grab for his knife before Kayano could cut him. “Well, you’re full of surprises.”

“It’s what I do best!” She swapped her knife to her other hand as they engaged in blows trying to stab each other, drops of the paint threatening to splatter.

He ducked down and yanked her ankle with his foot to pull her down. She looked down when she realised and grabbed his arm, pulling him down with her before he could stop it.

His knife landed in her stomach while hers splattered blue paint across his throat as they both fell to the ground in a mess of blue and red paint.

Gakushuu scowled, rolling off her when he realised he’d been hit, touching his throat. “You went right for the throat…”

Kayano sighed, lying on her back still. “You left yourself open.” She sat up, looking relieved. “I have to admit, it is nice not having to pretend.” She rubbed her neck. “The whole thing was exhausting…”

“I can imagine.” He sat up, rubbing off some of the drips of paint that were trailing down his throat, blue staining the back of his hand.

Kayano glanced at him curiously. “The lies can be hard to keep track of…” She smiled apprehensively. “Good thing we have forgiving friends.”

“I’d say co-dependent is a more accurate term for mine.” Gakushuu stood up, offering her his hand.

“They do seem kind of needy.” She took his hand and stood up. “You might want to be a little nicer to them if you want them to be less insecure.”

His brow furrowed, pulling his hand away when she was standing. “I’m perfectly pleasant to them.”

Kayano raised an eyebrow. “…Really?”

He scowled. “… Well, I suppose some more praise wouldn’t hurt.”

She laughed. “Yeah, you might want to work on your people’s skills a little more—acting only gets you so far when your friends see through the pretending.”

His scowl faded a little, thinking it over. “Perhaps…” Being a little nicer couldn’t hurt at least.

* * *

“He was hiding behind Mr Karasuma the whole time?!” Gakushuu exclaimed when the class gathered to watch Karma and Nagisa have their final showdown.

"Ballsy tactic," Bitch-sensei commented, sounding impressed. "The kid essentially used Karasuma as his own personal blind."

"A referee goes largely unnoticed on the playing field," Koro-sensei said. "Nagisa honed in on that fact and made himself invisible." The screen showed Nagisa in the position he had been in for the entirety of the match. Karasuma paid no attention to him. "Brilliant! He waited for the perfect moment to reveal himself. His instincts are that of a natural-born killer."

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes warily, remembering his conversation with Karma. “Yes, he is…”

“It’s really down to those two,” Kimura said, watching.

“Wait, isn’t Maehara still in the game?” Isogai asked.

“Ah!” Down below Maehara was taken out rather easily by Karma.

“Oh…” Isogai looked surprised. “Never mind.”

"Nagisa!" Karma shouted from below. "Put down the gun and come on out! We'll settle this with blades!"

“What is he doing?” Kayano questioned.

“Nagisa’s not really going to accept the challenge is he?” Sugaya asked.

“It’s an unfair advantage since Karma is better at hand to hand combat,” Toka said, frowning.

“Yes, it is.” Gakushuu scrutinised the red-head warily.

“Nagisa, don’t do it!” Sugino yelled. “Come on! Take him out while you have the shot!”

“He won’t…” Kayano’s brow furrowed, watching. “Nagisa wants this resolved, none of the fighting matters if they can’t agree on the win.”

Gakushuu hummed, watching closely as they waited, until after a few moments, Nagisa stepped out of the trees and into the open.

"Seriously?" Nakamura said aloud.

"No, they're going mano-a-mano?" Sugino's eyes were wide.

Kayano seemed to be the only one that wasn't surprised. "It makes sense. Nagisa respects Karma in a big way and he needs him to understand where he's coming from."

Gakushuu stared at the two of them while the rest of the class voiced wishes to get a better view of the fight.

“What do you think?” Itona asked, standing alongside him.

“I think they’re both morons,” Gakushuu sighed. “But who am I to question how they resolve their mess of a friendship? If you can even call it that.”

Itona raised an eyebrow, the two of them following after the rest of the class and Koro-sensei. “3-A might solve things with debates but assassination is our strength. The fact the two of them are willing to put everything on the line because of what they believe in earns my respect.”

“I suppose.” Gakushuu nodded faintly, thinking the past events over. “The class does need to be unified if it’s going to make a clear choice, so if this is the final way to settle it, then fine.”

Seeing everyone’s talents in full force had been something else entirely, with Karma and Kayano being the most surprising considering how well they’d kept some parts of themselves hidden from others. With so much pretending he supposed he could understand Koro-sensei’s reasoning for the whole war, settling things outright played out better with this class than going round in circles with debates. He’d lost count of how many times he’d wanted to punch Karma in the face, so he couldn’t blame Nagisa for rising to the opportunity.

Even if the opportunity rested the decision that could potentially lead to the Earth exploding by March.


	5. He was going to kill him

Watching Karma and Nagisa beat each other was both fascinating and entertaining, especially considering Karma had the advantage of physical strength.

They were all huddled together in the clearing below, watching the two boys fight.

Gakushuu watched in interested as Nagisa used his assassination skills to counter Karma’s attacks, while also managing to stay standing after the redhead delivered a number of sharp blows to his stomach. The adaptability of the strength was impressive with the two opposite but strong types of talent butting heads.

Karma's fist pounded the bottom of Nagisa's chin. Nagisa stepped backwards, crouched down, and held his head in his hands, trying to minimize the pain. Karma didn't give him any time before sprinting over to him and lifting his leg as high as he could. He hammered it into Nagisa's head and Nagisa fell straight over in the dead leaves, motionless.

"That was an axe kick!" Terasaka said. "Bring one of those to the table and the other guy doesn't have a chance in hell!"

Gakushuu looked on grimly while a few of the others winced at the blow. He had to admit the blow seemed a little too brutal. The fact it seemed like Karma found the whole fight as a way to vent his unspoken issues towards the blue-haired boy, was mildly disturbing but considering he was a sadist it wasn’t exactly surprising.

Karma walked back over to Nagisa. He raised the knife and prepared to strike, but Nagisa suddenly turned and clapped loudly, two inches from Karma's face.

Nearly all of them reeled back a little at the sudden move, watching anxiously when Karma kept standing and He looked up, glaring harshly but victoriously, his smile even bigger than before.

“How is he still standing?!” Yada questioned.

"He bit his tongue to keep from dropping!" Koro-sensei exclaimed.

Gakushuu eyes widened more. “His strategy during combat is impressive.”

He’d underestimated just how analytical the delinquent was, it was becoming clearer as to how they’d tied in the final exams. Though, he’d never admit it to the boy’s face.

Nagisa let go of the knife and let it fly past Karma's ear, still running at him as fast as he could. Nagisa wrapped his arms around Karma's neck from the side in a surprise move which looked like a full attack.

Nagisa gave a loud shout of effort, bringing himself and Karma to the ground.

"A triangle choke!" Terasaka exclaimed.

“A martial arts move?” Gakushuu frowned.

“If he used his signature move Karma could have anticipated it,” Itona commented, recording the fight on his phone.

“True.” Gakushuu watched as Karma was struggling to escape. “This is the first time I’ve seen Nagisa pull a move like this.”

"With his carotid cinched, it's only a matter of time before he passes out!" Karasuma looked apprehensive and surprised. "Nagisa's chokehold is even more effective than it was earlier!"

"YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR ME OUT!" Nagisa shouted.

Gakushuu looked at Nagisa in surprise since that was the loudest he’d ever heard the boy.

"Look at him!" Yoshida said. "How the hell is he pinning him down like that in the first place?!"

"The element of surprise," Koro-sensei answered. "Nagisa sacrificed his greatest skill to create a red herring, opting to finish with a martial arts move all to make a simple point: Karma's own speciality has, in the end, been turned against him."

“They are really giving their all for this fight.” Kanzaki smiled, looking proud.

Nakamura nodded. “It’s a serious decision.”

“Yes.” Gakushuu watched Karma struggle to grab the knife. “I’ve never seen a fight like this…”

“Yes, Karma and Nagisa are opposites so a fight like this normally wouldn’t happen in civilian circumstances.” Koro-sensei chuckled. “Most people don’t see the potential.” He patted Gakushuu’s head. “Both Karma and Nagisa are putting everything on the line here.”

Gakushuu hummed, glancing up at him briefly when the weight of the decision weighed down heavier.

"He's got a knife!" Kimura exclaimed.

"Oh, no!" Kayano's hands covered her mouth.

Karma was bringing the knife closer and closer to Nagisa's back. 

He watched warily, remembering the conversation with Karma earlier. The situation growing messier when he started to realize how the next moves would be tricky either way. Nagisa hadn’t been able to shoot Karma because the sadist had deliberately left himself wide open.

“He’s not going to do it,” Gakushuu said grimly.

The entire fight had become personal, mixing into different perspectives until it was a tangled mess, and his suspicions were confirmed when Karma jammed the knife into the ground and patted Nagisa's back. "I give up. Uncle, uncle!"

Gakushuu grimaced briefly, knowing the decision would lead to a whole other set of issues, but… He looked at his former classmates, having the class fractured wouldn’t be much help either.

“Uh, is Nagisa choking Karma?” Kimura spoke up when they realised Nagisa was still choking the boy.

"That's enough! Red team has surrendered." Karasuma's voice echoed across the playing field. Nagisa took the pressure off Karma's neck, but didn't move any more than that. He looked up, shocked. "Game over. Blue team is the winner."

The people on the blue team cheered.

"Okay, cool," Nakamura admitted. "You worked hard for that win, Nagisa."

Gakushuu hummed, crossing his arms. “It still causes more issues…”

Itona shrugged. “They were both willing to put their lives on the line to prove a point.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised not enough of you are questioning how they’re resolving their issues by hitting each other.”

Nakamura shrugged. “Sometimes you just gotta stab your friend a few times to work stuff out.”

He sighed loudly, growing irritated. “Do any of you realise how insane you sound?”

“Nope!” Kurahashi giggled happily, following the others to go congratulate Karma and Nagisa.

"True feelings tend to bubble up when under pressure from a big decision," Koro-sensei said, while Gakushuu hung back. "Often as not, there's conflict. But look!" he said, gesturing to the members of the class that were talking and getting along just fine, even after having just fought each other. "In the end, harmony reigns because these boys and girls have fought in earnest. They've come to see and appreciate one's true feelings."

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes. “You do realise trying to kill each other isn’t the solution to everything?”

Koro-sensei chuckled, patting him on the head. "Sometimes conflict can be the best opportunity to strengthen a friendship!”

"Is that another lesson?" Karasuma asked. "Without strife, we can't grow or learn a damn thing?"

“Probably.” Gakushuu whacked the tentacle away while Koro-sensei laughed. “It seems to be the usual repetitive nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense!” Koro-sensei pouted. “I thought you said you agreed!?”

He huffed. “Just because your lessons are 80% correct most of the time doesn’t erase the 20% of stupidity following after!”

“That’s not true!” Koro-sensei objected.

“Yes, it is,” Mr Karasuma commented dryly.

Bitch-sensei rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t erase the 20% of being a pervert either.”

“Compared to your 100% perversion?” Gakushuu remarked dryly.

Bitch-sensei bristled. “What did you say you little smartass?!”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “I was referring to you being a child molester if you would like it explained in easier to understand terms?”

“YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Bitch-sensei was held back by Mr Karasuma, waving her gun threateningly while Koro-sensei shielded him by pulling an unimpressed Gakushuu into an embrace so he wouldn’t get hurt.

Gakushuu sighed as his face was smushed against Koro-sensei’s tie, trying un trap his arms so he could reach for his knife and stab him while his former classmates celebrated and his old teachers were chaotic.

* * *

Koro-sensei was insane, no actually, counter that. This whole class was insane for enabling his madness. For entertaining every whimsical yet scientifically unsound action of this mutated octopus.

"You're serious," Takebayashi spoke after what Koro-sensei had just proposed.

Gakushuu was stock still, staring at Koro-sensei in shock, praying his head was just out of sorts from breathing in too much paint fumes.

Karma laughed. "That's it. Our teacher's officially gone off the deep end!"

Koro-sensei was beyond excited. "YES! Consider this the Assassination Classroom out-of-season research project!"

The octopus held up a picture of several realistically drawn students of E Class was shown as if it were a flyer. In the top centre were the ISS and a picture of Saturn, which was actually a 'realistically drawn' Koro-sensei face with rings around it. "Ground control to Major Tom," Koro-sensei putting on an astronaut's voice said. "The ISS has been hijacked!"

_How did he have time to make that?! He couldn’t even draw properly?!_

Gakushuu blinked once, then twice, and then three times. His brain trying to catch-up to what he was seeing and hearing.

_Koro-sensei…Koro-sensei wanted to send them to space… in less than a month…space…_

_FUCKING SPACE?!!_

Gakushuu clutched his head, feeling dizzy as he leant against the desk while his old classmates were chatting. He grabbed his bag and school blazer.

_No…No way. There was only so much insanity he could handle in a day._

He was done.

"Whoa. No way," Nagisa said, staring at their teacher in shock.

"Yes, way!" Koro-sensei insisted enthusiastically. "All the way! To infinity and— Asano, where are you going?”

Gakushuu slid the door opened, looking over his shoulder. “No. I’m done. You’re on your own.”

“What?!” Koro-sensei looked flustered. “Wait no, Asano, don’t go!!” he pleaded, flailing his tentacles. “It’ll be perfectly safe—it’s a class bonding experience!”

He didn’t even have the strength to yell.

Gakushuu gave his old teacher a long hard look. “No. You belong in a mental institute. I’m tired. Don’t attempt to contact me.”

And with that, he sharply slid the door closed behind him.

* * *

“…So you think we’re gonna end up dead?” Itona asked as they were sat around the small table on the floor for dinner, a hot-pot on the table as they cooked up some cabbage, crab, and noodles in the broth.

“Most likely.” Gakushuu slurped some of the broth, frowning before he added some chopped onions.

Itona hummed, dishing out some noodles from the left side of the hotpot. “I still wanna do it though.”

“Do you have a death wish?” Gakushuu scoffed, shaking his head as he picked up his metal chopsticks and bowl. “The entire concept is insane—he’s basically cramming years of training into barely three weeks!”

Itona didn’t seem bothered, eating. “Still cool though.”

Gakushuu sighed, growing tired already. “I honestly don’t even have the patience to argue.”

Itona seemed to find it funny. “Are you worried?”

“No.” Gakushuu’s eyes narrowed. “I’m just irritated by the stupidity, since like usual 3-E has about as much self-preservation as Bitch-sensei does for professional conduct.” He scowled. “And if you die it does mean I’ll either have to go back to living with my father or Ren.” His gut did a twist when he thought of Ren and the others after everything that had happened. “Well…if that’s still an option…”

Itona looked over curiously. “Why wouldn’t it be?” He added some more food to his bowl. “Just because you had a fight doesn’t mean you aren’t still friends—just look at Karma and Nagisa.”

Gakushuu still frowned, poking at his food. “Yes, well we can’t all solve our problems with fists.” His thoughts lingered back to what Koro-sensei had said about conflict being needed in friendship. “Besides, it isn’t my fault they’re insecure…”

“…So you’re upset?” Itona said bluntly.

“I’m not upset,” he snapped, scowling.

Itona stared at him dryly. “You don’t eat when you’re upset.”

“I’m just letting it cool down!”Gakushuu self-consciously pushed his full bowl out of view. “Regardless, it doesn’t solve my problem of fixing their clingy behaviour.”

Itona shrugged. “Well, you can be a jerk .” He chewed on some crab meat. “They’re just insecure because you treat them like minions.”

“I don’t treat them like minions.” His scowl grew when Itona shot him a look. “…Well, at least not anymore.”

“Sometimes people need to see it,” he replied, shrugging again. “Just do something to show them you appreciate them.”

Gakushuu’s brow furrowed, shifting. “…And what would you suggest?”

“I don’t know, they’re your friends,” Itona replied dismissively, eating.

He shot him an annoyed look, pondering. He supposed he could try a little more to show his friends that he appreciated their companionship.

* * *

“…So in other words, you skipped class to play paintball with the other students?” The Principal said dryly when Gakushuu reported to his office.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “It’s a tactile sport.”

His father sighed, clasping his hands on the desk as he shook his head. “…You will apologise to your homeroom teacher and your English and science teacher as well. They very much were shocked by your absence.”

“I’ve already written a heartfelt email and sent them fruit baskets,” Gakushuu replied, smiling politely.

The Principal’s eye twitched. “Skipping class isn’t a joke, son.”

“And I wasn’t joking.” Gakushuu walked closer to the desk, checking the time. “As well as that, I will also be personally apologising to them individually.”

His father sighed again, annoyed still. “…I will issue a written warning this once. Do not do this again.”

“Of course not.” He smiled placidly, earning a glare.

“Good.” The Principal narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “…So 3-E have opted to save him have they?”

“Yes, that seems to be the plan, so I’ve left them to it,” Gakushuu remarked evenly.

His father hummed. “And what are those plans exactly?”

Flashes of the space poster and Koro-sensei’s excited rambling came, while Gakushuu kept a straight face.

“I honestly haven’t the faintest idea,” he lied smoothly. “As I said, I’ve just left them to it.”

The Principal gave him a sceptical look. “….Really?”

Gakushuu shrugged. “I’m more of an honouree member, so I’m not privy to any sensitive planning.”

His father looked at him sternly. “ _Son.”_

Gakushuu smiled sweetly. “But be rest assured, _dad,_ that if I even hear a whisper of misdeed. You will be the first person I report to.”

His father scowled. “I will be speaking with Mr Karasuma about this.”

“As you should,” Gakushuu replied, checking the time again. “Now, if that’s everything, Itona is expecting me back.”

“Very well.” His father’s scowl faded as he nodded. “I won’t keep you, however…” The however made Gakushuu pause and arch an eyebrow. “…I was wondering if you would like to come home for the weekend and stay over,” he proposed, standing up as he frowned. “There were a few meals I thought we could cook together.”

Gakushuu grew more guarded, tensing when his father approached and smiled at him. “I was going to organise a study session with Class A this weekend…”

“What about next week?” his father suggested instead, making him uncomfortable. “You still have most of your things at home, so you wouldn’t have to pack much overnight.”

Gakushuu stayed quiet, weighing it up. It was only overnight, nothing bad would happen…and he needed to get used to being in the house again…

Itona’s advice nagged at the back of his head, but how long would it take if they kept waiting for him to feel comfortable? His father wasn’t going to remain patient forever, especially with the threat of destruction hanging over their heads still.

“…Okay,” Gakushuu replied stiffly.

His father’s face brightened. “Wonderful,” he replied. Gakushuu cringed when he was pulled into a hug. “You don’t understand how much I appreciate this, son.”

Gakushuu hummed, raising his hands to subtly try to push him away. “Yeah…” Then an idea resurfaced. “But, there are conditions.”

His father loosened his grip. “Oh?”

Gakushuu quickly backed away and cleared his throat. “I have a small request…”

* * *

Gakushuu tapped his foot impatiently while he waited in the unused student council room before school started.

“Asano?” Kondo peaked his head through the door, looking out of breath.

“Finally.” Gakushuu frowned, crossing his arms as Kondo sheepishly came in with the tray of coffees from Starbucks and some bags of muffins. “Kondo, I told you to get here ten minutes ago.”

“Sorry!” Kondo ducked his head. “There was a line…”

Gakushuu sighed, taking the tray. “I told you to…” He quickly stopped himself from finishing, remembering his old classmates' advice. “Nevermind. Thank you for picking them up, Kondo.”

His classmate’s eyes widened in surprise before a smile broke onto his face. “It wasn’t a problem.” He looked at the coffees curiously. “It must be an important meeting if you’re having coffee.”

“Yes.” Gakushuu checked his watch and then looked at the door when he heard voices down the hallway. “Anyway, I’ll handle things from here.”

“Okay.” Kondo still looked curious, smiling for some reason as he left. “Good luck!”

Good luck?

Gakushuu scowled briefly, wondering if 3-A was already aware of the incident yesterday…which was likely since his friends were collectively bad gossipers.

The door opened a second time with Ren, Seo, Araki, and Koyama appearing and regarding the coffee and Gakushuu warily.

“…Good morning,” he greeted them, forcing a smile.

Araki frowned. “…Are we having a meeting?”

“Of sorts…” Gakushuu cleared his throat and gestured to the drinks. “I got everyone’s preferred beverage.” He pointed at Koyama’s. “Caramel Blended Coffee for Koyama, Caffe Misto with steamed milk for Araki, Soy Latte for Ren, and a Cappuccino for Seo.”

The four of them exchanged confused looks. “…Since when have you ever bought us coffee?” Araki asked warily.

Gakushuu picked up his black coffee and frowned. “I ordered the drinks last time we did lunch.”

“Yeah, and then you made us pay for your coffee,” Seo remarked dryly.

“I merely asked who was paying, I didn’t demand anything,” he argued.

They looked unconvinced.

Ren sighed, taking his Soy Latte. “Thanks for the coffee, Asano.”

“Yeah.” Koyama took his. “Thanks.”

Seo scoffed, drinking his. “What is this all for anyway?”

Gakushuu’s smile threatened to turn into a scowl. “Can’t I spontaneously buy my friends coffee?”

Araki raised an eyebrow. “Kind of seems more like a bribe.”

His smile twitched. “Or I could be showing my appreciation towards you?”

“Really?” Ren raised an eyebrow.

“I understand we’re all still cleaning up the mess my father left behind,” Gakushuu continued. “Which is why Class A is my number one commitment, however, I do still have some obligations towards 3-E.” He cleared his throat. “Obligations which you may not understand fully, but are still important.” He watched them carefully when they stayed silent. “Things did get out of hand yesterday, and I acknowledge I should have been clearer that would be absent from class.”

The four of them shared a look briefly before Ren sighed. “Okay, we get that.” He put the latte down and stepped forwards. “Look, I know we’re being insecure, and we need to work on that, but…”

“We’re still getting used to how much you’ve changed!” Araki burst out, fidgeting. “Which isn’t bad, it’s just—”

“It’s like sometimes we’re speaking to a different person,” Koyama commented.

Gakushuu frowned. “I hardly think it’s that drastic.”

“You spent last Saturday cutting discount coupons from the newspaper,” Seo said.

_It was a 50% off canned soup, what kind of mad man would pass that up?!_

“That’s just being better at money management,” he replied stiffly. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“You helped an old woman pack her shopping bags,” Koyama said.

“I was being respectful.”

“It took an hour!”

“She had fragile goods!” Gakushuu replied impatiently. “You can’t just toss that stuff in a bag and not expect something to break, Koyama,” he lectured. “It requires careful arrangement.”

The three of them groaned in exasperation.

Ren sighed, running a hand down his face. “We’re not saying it’s bad—”

“It’s fucking weird,” Seo interrupted. “It feels like you got body snatched sometimes!”

“Shut up, Seo.” Ren flicked the boy’s head. “A lot of us actually find it kind of…sweet.” He smiled hesitantly, causing Gakushuu to scowl. “It’s just _different,_ so we’re still getting used to it,” he told him. “Also the rest of the class’s abandonment issues aren’t going away any time soon, especially with entrance exams, everyone’s just stressed and worried.”

Gakushuu sighed. “Which I understand,” he replied. “And is a top priority of mine, which is why I have organised a way we can work together as a class and study before the first exams start.”

“You do?” Araki looked surprised along with the rest of the others.

“Of course.” Gakushuu crossed his arms. “Even though _you_ may doubt it, my dedication to our class it absolute.” That caused Seo and Koyama to look embarrassed; as they should. “Therefore I have arranged a full weekend cram session this week.”

“Where?” Ren asked, looking intrigued.

Gakushuu smirked. “I struck a bargain with my father. He’s agreed to let us use the council room for 48 hours, so long as we don’t cause any damages or raid the kitchens.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ll also be drawing up study guides for each member of the class.”

“You seriously arranged all that?!” Araki exclaimed.

Ren smiled in amusement. “Well, this is Asano we’re talking about.”

“Exactly,” Gakushuu replied smugly. “Now, I fully intend to do my duty to the class, but if you four would rather delay things and keep pestering me with your insecure—”

“Okay, we get it!” Seo rolled his eyes, trying not to smile. “Can we just move past it and get to work already?”

Gakushuu smiled crookedly. “Of course. I fully expect your assistance in making sure things run smoothly considering how some of our classmates do need some guidance, especially since no inappropriate behaviour is to take place.”

Koyama sniggered and nudged Ren. “Yeah, Ren, keep it in your pants!”

Ren crossed his arms. “At least the girls don’t run away from me screaming.”

“HEY!” Koyama yelled while Araki and Seo laughed.

“Just don’t shine a flashlight in your face,” Ren commented sweetly, patting Koyama on the head.

“I’ll pour this stupid coffee in your face!” Koyama threatened, having to be quickly held back by Araki.

Gakushuu fought back a smirk. “Alright settle down.” He confiscated the drink from Koyama while Ren chuckled. “We have work to do, gentlemen.”

“Besides if anyone’s gonna be inappropriate it’s Araki and his girlfriend,” Seo teased.

Araki turned bright red. “I would never be inappropriate with Kanada at school!” he exclaimed in outrage. “We take our duties very seriously!”

“Which ones,” Koyama teased, making kissy faces.

“That’s it!” Araki threatened to throw his drink on them both.

Gakushuu sighed as he watched them, feeling like he just traded one insane group for another.

* * *

“A sleepover!” Koro-sensei exclaimed excitedly, hovering around Gakushuu while he packed his overnight supplies in his backpack. “Can I come?!”

“No,” Gakushuu replied, walking over to the fridge while Itona was on the floor examining Koro-sensei’s plans on the ‘space training’; Gakushuu nearly facepalmed just thinking about it.

“Please!” Koro-sensei begged. “It sounds fun.”

“You’re a state secret.” Gakushuu grabbed a can of energy drinks from inside the fridge before shutting the door. “Even if you like to pretend you’re not.”

Koro-sensei huffed, sitting next to Itona on the floor. “But I wanna go…”

Gakushuu’s eye twitched, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “No,” he repeated, glaring. “Just be quiet and carrying on discussing your ridiculous space plans, or whatever atrocity you’re calling it.”

“They aren’t ridiculous!” Koro-sense held up a toy rocket. “It’s a class bonding experience and adventure.”

Gakushuu grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind when I’m attending Itona’s funeral.”

“I want my ashes melted down and made into a cellphone case,” Itona said dryly while writing down notes on the plans.

“No,” Gakushuu replied, checking his backpack to make sure he had everything. “You’ll be lucky if I spread your ashes on a trash heap.”

!” Koro-sensei kept whining. “But there isn’t much of the term left and I need photos for the yearbook! And you barely even visit anymore.”

“That’s because you’re all insane!” Gakushuu shot back, opening the front door. “And I refuse to be anywhere near this monstrosity of a class project!”

He heard Koro-sensei sob as he slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

“Is everyone’s sleeping areas set up in the separate classrooms?”Gakushuu asked Araki and Kanada while all the class were chatting and getting books out in the student council room on Friday evening.

“Yes, the areas are all set up,” Kanada replied, nodding. “With rotating shift patterns to monitor and make sure the girls and boys don’t go into each other's sleeping zones.”

“Good,” he replied, ticking it off his checklist on the clipboard. “Has everyone received their cards showing with study group they’re in?”

Araki nodded. “Yes, they’ve all been distributed.”

Gakushuu checked that off his list. “Excellent. Then we can proceed with the first rounds of revision before the take-out arrives.”

“Right!” The two of them replied brightly before going off to action the orders.

“Everything running on time?” Ren asked, standing alongside him.

“Of course.” Gakushuu clicked his pen, feeling a rush of pride when he saw his classmates organise efficiently and follow his orders properly. “You honestly think I’d let a simple study session turn into a disaster?”

Ren looked amused. “Never even crossed my mind.” He nudged his arm playfully. “I guess I should be apologising right now for ever doubting you?”

“I would prefer grovelling,” Gakushuu replied lightly. “But I’m in a generous mood.”

Ren laughed, raising his hands. “Okay, fair enough.” He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry for giving you a headache.” He smiled sheepishly. “I guess I probably was a little jealous—but I’m definitely over that now.”

Gakushuu hummed sceptically. “Clearly.” He checked his list. “I’ll admit, I probably should have expected some turbulence…” He raised an eyebrow. “Though the excessive stalking and possessiveness were irritating.”

“Sorry…” Ren shifted uncomfortably. “We just really missed you.” He gave an apprehensive laugh. “We’re kind of hopeless without you.”

Gakushuu tried not to smile. “Well, not to worry, I don’t have any plans of leaving any time soon.”

Ren’s smile grew fond. “Well—”

“AHHHH!!!” A high pitched screen penetrated the hallway and classroom.

“What the hell was that?” Koyama yelled while everyone grew on high alert and looked around

Footsteps followed and then Satsuki burst into the room. “THERE’S A MONSTER EATING IN THE SNACK ROOM!!!”

Gakushuu blinked, processing what she’d said, and then swore and buried his face in his hand while everyone else started all talking at once in confusion.

Blue team victory be damned, he was going to kill that octopus!


	6. What in God's name was that?!

Gakushuu sighed while his friends were already starting to panic. “Alight, everyone settle down!” He forced a smile. “I’m sure it’s nothing!”

“But, what about all those articles and news reports about a yellow creature stealing girls underwear!” Kanada questioned.

“Yeah, and what about those weird yellow octopus sightings people have been reporting?” Tanaka questioned.

Gakushuu’s smile twitched. “Those rumours were barely even verified.” He chuckled, even though they didn’t seem reassured. “I’ll investigate—”

“No way!” Araki frowned. “You can’t just go investigating alone!”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he insisted, already moving towards the door.

“No.” Seo grabbed his arm. “You’re not going alone.”

Gakushuu bit back a sigh. “You’re all overreacting.”

Ren frowned. “You’re not going alone.” He crossed his arms. “End of discussion.”

_For goodness sake!_

Gakushuu grimaced, realising they wouldn’t budge on this. “…Fine. Tag along if you want, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

The others didn’t look convinced, his friends and half a dozen members of 3-A following him as he walked down the hallway.

Gakushuu mentally swore repeatedly, hoping that Koro-sensei had enough sense to leave the school before he was seen.

_Why was the octopus even here to begin with? Was he really obsessed with attending a stupid sleepover?!_

He pulled out his phone to turn on the flashlight and dropped a quick text to Itona.

**Asano: Koro-sensei gatecrashed the study sleepover.**

**_Itona was typing…_ **

**Itona: Lol**

Gakushuu scowled, texting furiously back.

**Asano: THIS ISN’T FUNNY**

**Itona: Hold on…**

Gakushuu frowned, walking down the hallway while his classmates looked around warily.

Suddenly the 3-E group chat sprang to life.

**Nakamura: LMAO! GUYS! KOROSENSEI CRASHED ASANO’S SLEEPOVER!**

_God damn it, Itona!_

**Terasaka: HAHA!**

**Maehara: Ha! Yo, Asano! Are you guys making fondue!?**

**Fuwa: Lol. Asano, send pics!**

Gakushuu glared at the screen.

**Asano: None of you are helpful.**

**Karma: You guys playing spin the bottle yet?**

He shoved his phone in his pocket while the messages poured in.

“Who are you texting?” Ren asked, frowning.

Gakushuu sighed. “It doesn’t matter.” He stopped in front of the classroom they were using for the snack room. “Is this it?”

“Yes.” Satsuki nodded, looking worried. “I can’t hear anything though.”

“I’ll go and check,” Gakushuu said firmly. “You all can wait outside.”

“What? No, it could be dangerous,” Koyama replied.

Gakushuu sighed, shooting them an annoyed look. “While I appreciate your concern, I am perfectly able to look after myself.” He narrowed his eyes at Ren. “Stay here. That is an order.”

Ren and the rest of the class still didn’t look happy about it, but they stayed silent.

_Good._

Gakushuu sighed and slowly slid open the classroom door, peaking inside the room, nearly sighing in relief when he couldn’t see Koro-sensei—

A crisp fell from the ceiling and hit him on the head.

A vein nearly burst on Gakushuu’s forehead as he gritted his teeth.

_GOD DAMN IT!_

Gakushuu slid the door behind him sharply, ignoring the protest from his classmates.

“Really?”

Koro-sensei looked sheepish when he slithered down from the ceiling eating a giant bag full of crisps. “…There was so much food…”

Gakushuu growled and jammed the door with a desk. “I swear…”

“Eh-eh, now let’s not be hasty!” Koro-sensei quickly backed away, holding up a camera. “I just wanted to capture some more memories!”

“Get out!” Gakushuu brandished his anti-sensei knife and lunged at him. “You’re ruining everything.”

Koro-sensei easily dodged, eating his crisps. “You barely visit the old campus anymore!”

“Because you’re a stalker!” Gakushuu snapped, jumping on a desk to strike him. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I just wanted to take photos for the class yearbook,” Koro-sensei whined, dodging easily.

“Asano, are you okay in there?!” Araki questioned from outside as the door rattled.

“I’M FINE!” Gakushuu grabbed onto Koro-sensei’s tentacle when the teacher was distracted by the door. “I HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!” He tried to stab the tentacle but was pulled into a selfie by the octopus. “Stop it!”

“Aw!” Koro-sensei gushed while he tried to stab him. “Your technique improved so much – have you been practicing at home?”

“Shut up!” Gakushuu tried to slice the tentacle but it wrapped around his waist. “HEY!”

“Just wear one cosplay, please!” Koro-sensei begged, holding up an astronaut costume. “The lighting in this room is perfect!”

Gakushuu tried to kick him. “GET OFF!”

“ASANO!” Araki’s voice was shrill as the door rattled like it’d break.

Koro-sensei looked over nervously. “Uh, oh.”

Gakushuu yelped as he was dropped on the floor when Koro-sensei vanished and slipped out of the window a second before the door was kicked open and the other Big Five burst in.

“Asano!” Koyama cried. “Are you okay!?”

Gakushuu grimaced. “I’m fine,” he quickly sat up as they rushed over. “I…tripped over the desks in the dark.”

“It sounded like you were in a fight,” Seo exclaimed as Ren and Araki rushed to help him stand up. “Who were you talking to?”

Gakushuu frowned, dusting himself off. “No one.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Uh, you were clearly talking to someone.”

“And look, all the snacks are gone!” Satsuki pointed at the snack corner where there were just empty wrappers.

“Maybe we should call the police…?” Aoi took out his phone.

“No,” Gakushuu said firmly. “It’s probably just a prank.”

“By who?” Ren exclaimed.

“Um…” Gakushuu thought quickly.

There was a crash further down the hallway.

_What now?!_

“What was that?” Kondo questioned.

“It was further down! Come on!” Satsuki rushed ahead.

They all headed to another classroom down the hallway.

Gakushuu quickly ran ahead and blocked the door. “Wait!” He raised his hands. “I’ll handle it.”

“You sounded like you were in a fight last time,” Ren said, frowning. “If we go in a group—”

“No!” Gakushuu snapped, his nerves getting the better of him. “Just stay here, it’s probably nothing.”

“STOP MAKING A NOISE!”

A Voice, which sounded like Fuwa, came from inside the room.

_Fuck._

“Uh…” A sweatdrop ran down Gakushuu’s forehead.

“That’s it!” Seo pushed passed him and slid the door open.

They were all greeted by the sight of Fuwa, Kimura, and Sugaya dressed in their combat gear and holding up a net towards an empty corner.

“What the hell?!” Satsuki yelled.

The three 3-E members turned around in alarm.

“Uh…” Fuwa froze.

“What are you doing here? And why are you holding a net?!” Araki snapped. “And why ae you dressed like you’re going to do paintballing?!”

“Heh.” A sweatdrop ran down Fuwa’s forehead. “Um…well, you see…”

“It’s a prank!” Sugaya said quickly. “We came here to prank you!”

“Yeah!” Kimura gave a nervous laugh. “Um, just look at your faces…”

“…What?” Ren just looked confused.

“Well, this makes perfect sense!” Gakushuu said quickly, turning to them.

“…It does?” Koyama frowned.

“Yes, of course, you know what 3-E is like!” Gakushuu scoffed. “This is just like them!”

His classmates exchanged unsure looks.

“I mean…I guess…” Araki scratched his head. “But would they eat all our snacks?”

“Uh, we were hungry!” Sugaya said quickly. “Sorry!”.

“Yeah.” Fuwa gave a nervous laugh. “It’s all just a prank.”

“They most likely snuck in here when they thought no one was looking,” Gakushuu said.

Satsuki frowned. “But the octopus…”

“Oh, that was just a costume!” Fuwa said quickly. “We love cosplay.”

“Yeah.” Kimura gave a strained laughed. “Classic E Class!”

There was a stretch of silence as 3-A stared at the 3-E members suspiciously.

“…Right.” Seo exchanged a look with Ren. “So you just came to prank us?”

“Yep! Are we were foiled!” Fuwa rubbed the back of her neck. “Looks like you caught us.”

“You guys can go back and tell everyone the news,” Gakushuu said, hand on the door. “I’ll escort these three out.”

Ren hummed, suspicious still. “…Okay.” He crossed his arms, looking at the others like a secret conversation was going on. “Fine then, we’ll leave you to it.”

Gakushuu held back a sigh, knowing how much of a headache this would cause. “I’ll join you shortly.” He closed the door and then glared at his old classmates. “Just what the hell are you doing?”

“Hey, check your messages,” Fuwa replied, huffing. “We were trying to help.”

Gakushuu scowled, taking out his phone where he had a series of notifications from the chat.

**Isogai: Do you need any help, Asano?**

**NAKAMURA: LOL YEAH! YOU WANT US TO COME GET HIM?**

**Maehara: Korosensei will try to have a pillow fight with them.**

**NAKAMURA: HAHAHAHA! I bet Asano will join.**

**Okano: Lol they’ll all end up playing truth or dare.**

**Mimura: Koro-sensei will choose dare every time.**

**Nagisa: Uh, guys, I think we should help Asano… Mr Karasuma won’t be happy if Koro-sensei is seen by 3-A. He’s trying to keep him a State secret, remember?**

**Maehara: Oh, yeah, true.**

**NAKAMURA: LOL MR K HAS ALREADY GIVEN UP TRYING!**

**Isogai: Guys…**

**Karma: Pfft.**

**Fuwa: I live close by! I can help.**

**Sugaya: Yeah, we’ll come get him.**

**Kimura: (Smile emoji) I’ll come! I’m bored.**

Gakushuu sighed, putting his phone away. “You could have called.”

“Who calls anymore?” Kimura questioned.

“I don’t want to leave.” Koro-sensei appeared by the window eating some chocolate. “I want more photos of Asano for the yearbook.”

“Will you stop stalking me already?” Gakushuu snapped, running a hand down his face.

Koro-sensei looked upset. “But you hardly visit…”

_WAS THIS MAN FIVE?!_

Gakushuu grimaced, keeping his temper in check. “…If I promise to visit this the old campus this week will you shut up and leave me alone?”

Koro-sensei’s face lit up. “Yes!”

“Good, then get out!” Gakushuu pointed at the window. “That goes for the rest of you as well.”

“Hey, we were just trying to help,” Fuwa replied, shrugging. “Sorry for being good friends.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. “Go. _Now_.”

“Fine.” Fuwa huffed and marched out with the other two boys behind her.

Koro-sensei chuckled as the other three left. “I’m sorry for interrupting…” He ate the snacks. “And eating the snacks.”

Gakushuu’s eye twitched. “Leave.”

“I will.” Koro-sensei patted him on the head while the others filed out of the classroom. “Your sensei just worried about you forgetting about him.”

“I wish I could,” Gakushuu said evenly, glaring at him. “Now go, before I convince my father to slash your pay more.”

Koro-sensei huffed. “You’re so mean…” He finished his snack and ate the plastic wrapper, before heading to the window. “I’ll look forward to your visit!”

Gakushuu glared at him until he was finally gone. “Ugh…” He took out his phone. “Ritsu?”

“Yep?” Ritsu appeared on the screen.

“Please order some pizza and charge it to my father’s credit card.”

“Okie dokes!” Ritsu grinned. “So, I gather Koro-sensei had a good time?”

“He’s a menace.” Gakushuu narrowed his gaze at the window.

Ritsu laughed. “He just misses you! We all do.” She pouted. “You haven’t plotted world domination with me for a whole week!”

He sighed. “I have responsibilities, Ritsu.” He grimaced. “I can’t be in multiple places at once…and I already have enough people and my father demanding my attention.”

Her pout faded. “Do you want to talk about it?”

His chest tightened. “…No.” He held the phone tight when he thought about his father. “It’s fine.”

Ritsu hummed, staring at him curiously. “Well, the others and I are here is you need us.”

“…Yes, I know,” he muttered, feeling uncomfortable. “But I’m fine… just forget about it, and just order the pizza, please.”

“… Okay.” She smiled brightly. “Have a fun sleepover!”

Gakushuu sighed when she disappeared off-screen, putting his phone in his pocket. He wandered back to the main room where 3-A were gathered and in mid-conversation when he arrived.

Gakushuu plastered on a smile. “Now, there, nothing to worry about.” He slid the door shut behind him. “Now, where were we?”

3-A were silent for a moment before Ren smiled brightly. “We need to get into our study groups.”

Gakushuu’s smile twitched, sensing something was off since Ren’s smile was a little too bright and carefree. “My thoughts exactly, we haven’t got all night.”

“Right!” The rest of his classmates replied in unison, getting into their groups.

Gakushuu glanced at Ren who’s smile stayed suspiciously perfect.

* * *

“Asano!” Koro-sensei beamed when Gakushuu acme to visit their class during lunch, the tables and desks pushed together.

Gakushuu sighed, walking into the classroom. “I can’t stay for long…”

“That’s fine.” A small smile was on Itona’s face.

Gakushuu took out his lunch and pulled up a chair to sit next to Itona. “We need to go grocery shopping after school, we’re out of milk.”

Itona shrugged. “The one in the fridge is still good.”

“It’s three days out of date,” Gakushuu repaid sharply.

Itona shrugged. “I can’t taste a difference.”

Gakushuu sighed, running a hand down his face. “How did you survive before I moved in?”

Itona shrugged, dipping his chicken strips in peanut butter. “I was doing fine.”

“…Right.” He shook his head. “Well, hopefully, the apartment won’t go to pieces when I visit my father.”

Itona’s brow furrowed. “…You’re really going to visit?”

Gakushuu shrugged, not meeting his gaze. “That was the deal.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “It’s only for the weekend.”

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Itona asked quietly.

Gakushuu swallowed. “Of course, I will.” He scoffed. “Honestly, you’re overreacting a bit don’t you think?” He shrugged again. “It’s only the weekend.”

 _It’d be fine_. Spending time with his father alone in the house would be good, it would help mend their relationship. _Everything would be fine._

He stared at his lunch when memories of being cornered against the living room wall while his father yelled at him stung like a burnt match on skin.

“Asano?” Itona sounded concerned.

Gakushuu gripped his chopsticks tight, stabbing into his bao bun. “It’ll be fine.” He plastered on a calm and pleasant smile. “I don’t know why you’re worried about it so much.”

Itona’s brow furrowed, but he stayed silent, poking at his food.

“So how has 3-A been?” Isogai asked, coming to sit with them.

“Yeah, were they freaked out about everything?” Maehara laughed, leaning on Isogai’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe you gatecrashed, sir,” Kataoka shook her head.

Koro-sensei huffed. “I wanted to join in.”

Gakushuu sighed, adding some soy source to his spring rolls. “Why do you have a constant obsessive need to be included in everything?”

“Easy, he has no friends his own age,” Karma replied dryly, slurping his strawberry milk while sitting with Nagisa and Kayano.

“That’s not true!” Koro-sensei sobbed. “I have friends!”

“Assassins trying to kill you don’t count,” Nakamura said flippantly.

Koro-sensei sobbed in the corner. “You’re all so mean!”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes, eating his lunch. “Well, thanks to you, 3-A are even more suspicious than ever.”

“Do you think they’ll figure out the secret?” Isogai looked worried.

Gakushuu gave him a look. “Ikeman, at this rate a squirrel could figure it out!”

“One probably already has,” Fuwa commented, shrugging.

“Don’t worry, Asano!” Ritsu popped up on the screen. “We’ll be the masters of subtly from this point on!”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “Oh, will you now?”

“Yeah, we’re assassins!” Maehara grinned. “We’ve kept it secret so far.”

“Yes, by the efforts of Mr Karasuma, no doubt,” Gakushuu muttered, shaking his head. “Look, all I ask is that you try to keep a low profile for the next few weeks, or at least long enough that they’re less alert.”

“Don’t worry, Asano.” Yoshida leaned back in his chair. “We got this.”

“Yeah, this is our speciality,” Muramatsu replied.

Gakushuu hummed, looking doubtful. “…It better be.”

“Whatever.” Terasaka scoffed, eating his lunch. “We know what we’re doing, Mr Perfect! We’re professionals.”

* * *

There were only ten minutes left of school when it happened, only _ten minutes…_

“Oh my God! Is that a spacecraft!!?” Kanada screamed when a spacecraft could very clearly be seen from their window, with a parachute as well.

“What?!” Their English teacher looked over at the window.

Gakushuu buried his face in his hands. “Oh, God…”

_DID THEY EVEN UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORD SUBTLE?_

“Oh, shit, look!” Koyama and the others rushed to the window.

Gakushuu stayed at his desk and sighed, contemplating every decision he’d made in his life.

“Is it landing on 3-E’s mountain?!” Araki questioned.

“Asano?” Ren looked over his shoulder.

Then his phone buzzed when he received a text from his father.

**Sperm-donor: My office. NOW.**

Gakushuu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he debated jumping off a roof to save him the headache of trying to come up with a bullshit excuse.

* * *

Gakushuu sighed as he stood in his father’s office with Mr Karasuma, Koro-sensei, Karma, and Nagisa present, the two boys having just returned from space…

He contemplated why he’d been born into this batshit crazy life.

He sighed, standing next to Nagisa who actually looked nervous, unlike Karma who didn’t seem worried in the slightest.

The Principal narrowed his gaze at all five of them. “So, let me see if I properly follow.” He clasped his hands on the desk. “ _Koro-sensei_.” The octopus yelped and stiffened. “You orchestrated and executed the plan to send two of your students into space, while also utilising the rest of 3-E to break into the space centre and steal a rocket… which hadn’t yet been used for human travel?”

“Uh…” Koro-sensei was sweating. “Well, it was more—”

“It’s a simple yes or no question,” the Principal’s voice sharpened.

Koro-sensei gulped, fidgeting. “Um…yes.”

“I see.” The Principal looked at Nagisa and Karma. “And you, two boys, according to reports from the space station who contacted me, threatened the astronauts at the space station with a knife and bomb?”

“Um…” Nagisa looked nervous.

“It was a fake bomb and knife.” Karma shrugged.

The Principal’s eye twitched. “Oh, was it?”

“We’re really sorry, sir!” Nagisa bowed apologetically. “We were just trying to work as a class and save Koro-sensei!”

The Principal’s lips thinned. “Enough.” He shook his head and turned to Karasuma. “And we haven’t even gone into the expenses of removing the stolen craft from the mountain.”

Karasuma barely held back a grimace, bowing his head apologetically. “The government will take care of any costs in removing the craft.” He gritted his teeth. “I apologise for the trouble caused.”

“Hm…” The Principal then turned his gaze to Gakushuu. “ _Son.” Oh, great._ “You knew about the whole plan but neglected to inform myself or Mr Karasuma. Would you like to explain yourself?”

Gakushuu would rather be downing an expresso at this point. “As I said, I was not involved in any way, shape or form to the events,” he replied lightly, smiling politely. “If I believed, at any point that Koro-sensei was going to successfully send my old classmates to space, I would have acted accordingly and reported it.”

Both Mr Karasuma and his father gave him an unimpressed look.

The Principal sighed, looking at Karma and Nagisa. “Please explain to me why I shouldn’t suspend you both for forcing your way into a space station and nearly causing an international incident?”

Karma shrugged. “We have blackmail.”

Gakushuu nearly choked on a laugh, covering his mouth while his father raised an eyebrow.

“Karma!” Nagisa chided and then quickly bowed. “ _Please_ don’t suspend us, sir! We’re _really_ sorry for causing trouble.”

“Yes!” Koro-sensei was flustered. “A-and Ritsu found a whole new space route to advance the space program.”

Karasuma sighed. “You’re not making it better.”

The Principal looked beyond exasperated with them all. “Considering by some miracle no one was injured or dead,” he said dryly. “I’m willing to let you off with a lighter punishment.” There was a sigh of relief. “3-E will be spending the week weeding the whole school and, Koro-sensei, I’m docking your pay again.”

“Weeding?!” Nagisa exclaimed while Karma scowled.

“No!” Koro-sensei sobbed. “Please! I’m already poor!” He begged at the man’s desk. “I can’t live like this!”

The Principal ignored him and looked at Gakushuu. “Son, you’ll be joining 3-E in their punishment.”

Gakushuu glared at him. “I didn’t do anything!”

His father shot him a stern look. “You knew exactly what they were doing and are therefore a conspirator – no arguments.”

Gakushuu glared at him. “Fine…”

_It was all bullshit anyway!_

“You and the rest of 3-E will also be writing a 10,000 word, _handwritten,_ an apology to the space program to atone for your actions,” the Principal added coldly.

Karma groaned, annoyed. “Seriously?”

Nagisa looked like he’d cry in despair, his shoulders slumped. “10,000 words… handwritten!”

Koro-sensei sobbed into his tentacles. “How am I going to afford groceries?!”

“That is not my concern.” The Principal sighed, turning his chair away from them dismissively. “Now, kindly leave, I have a formal apology I have to draft to _the head of the space_ program.”

None of them wasted a second further in the office, quickly leaving.

“Well, that was a disaster,” Mr Karasuma said in exasperation. “Excuse me while I have to explain to my superiors why they’ll be getting another large bill this month.”

Koro-sensei was still absorbed in his pay cut. “I wanted to go shopping next month for new outfits…”

“At least you don’t have to handwrite 10,000 words…” Nagisa wept silently as they walked down the hallway. “How long is that even gonna take?”

Karma grimaced. “I don’t know but I could get it done in a night.”

_One night? Amateurs._

Gakushuu sighed. “Yes, well, I did say this was a bad idea.”

“At least we got the data though,” Nagisa said, sighing as they reached the stairs where their paths altered. “Are you going to come back with us to analyse it, Asano?”

Gakushuu nodded, feeling a weird hopeful swell in his chest. “Yes, I will.” He glanced at Koro-sensei briefly before frowning. “I just need to grab my things from class.”

Nagisa nodded. “Okay, we’ll see you back at the mountain then.”

“Don’t be late or we’ll read it without you,” Karma said as they and the teachers walked off.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there.” He turned walked down the rest of the corridor back to his classroom.

His thoughts drifted to what the data could say, and if it meant that maybe… well maybe Koro-sensei could live. He frowned, his gut twisting.

_No, that was unlikely and foolish._

The reality was clear, and he couldn’t ignore it, even if he wanted to. The rest of the class would have to realise as well. Koro-sensei’s would die, even if it wasn’t by their hand, the government wouldn’t let the super-teacher live….

Gakushuu grimaced, sliding the classroom door open and… oh.

The entirety of Class A was there and looking at him expectantly like he’d stepped into an intervention.

He paused by the door. “… I didn’t realise we were having a class meeting.” He closed the door behind him and narrowed his eyes. “Is there a reason why? Or should I be concerned?”

There was a stretch of silence as the others in class looked towards the Big five expectantly.

“…We’ve been suspicious,” Araki said slowly.

“And since you haven’t been honest with us…” Koyama fidgeted.

“Yeah.” Seo stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “So…we decided to investigate it ourselves.”

_Fuck._

_Fuck!_

“…I see,” Gakushuu replied tightly, curling his hands into fists as he feared where this was going. “So, what is this all about then?”

The class all shared cryptic looks, with some of them looking like they were having an existential crisis.

Ren sighed after a moment, crossing his arms. “…Araki, play the video.”

Araki placed a laptop on the teacher’s desk in plain view and pressed play.

Gakushuu tensed when the video started to play and showed a camera feed of the Principal’s office, the camera angle looking like it was positioned on the trophy case, and showed the meeting with the Principal which had happened five minutes ago.

The meeting with himself, Mr Karasuma, Nagisa, Karma, and Koro-sensei… right there… in full colour…

Gakushuu stared as the dialogue from earlier replayed and the ridiculousness of his life played back at him almost mockingly. The universe viewing his life as a cosmic joke.

Then the video finished, and his classmates stared at him.

Gakushuu stared at the blank screen, opening and then closing his mouth. “Honestly…” He sat down at his desk. “…I have nothing, just go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Araki cleared his throat. “…NOW WHAT IN GOD’S NAME WAS THAT?!”

The class erupted like a tidal wave and onslaught of questions while Gakushuu sighed and wondered if he’d made a bad call missing the opportunity to be shot into space with the prospect of never returning.


	7. Everything is fine

Honestly, Gakushuu would have been more disappointed if his classmates hadn’t clocked that something was wrong since 3-E was as about as subtle as a hammer smashing a potato.

Mr Karasuma looked like a man older than he was. “Alright, has everyone read through the terms of the non-disclosure agreement?”

“Yes!” Class A responded diligently while Gakushuu took a large chug of his coffee.

The sun had set and it was nearly eight at night but they were all still in school trying to sort out the latest mess.

“And, does anyone have any questions?” Karasuma asked.

Nearly everyone in Class A raised their hands.

The agent sighed deeply before nodding at Araki. “Yes?”

“Yes, mine’s regarding the mind-wipe.” Araki adjusted his glasses. “Wouldn’t that be a violation of our human rights?”

“Yes, also…” Kanada spoke up, looking at the contract. “Just how much time is actually wiped? And what are the side-effects?”

Gakushuu nodded. “A valid question.”

Karasuma’s eye twitched, shooting him a small annoyed glance. “Please, just sign the contract.” He cleared his throat. “This isn’t negotiable.”

“Um, my family lawyer would disagree,” Satsuki exclaimed.

Karasuma sighed and shot Gakushuu a look like he expected him to say something.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow and sipped his coffee.

Karasuma narrowed his eyes briefly before sighing. “Please raise your hand when you’ve signed.”

“So what’s going to happen once we sign?” Kondo asked. “Can we talk to 3-E, because I still have questions?”

“…It would be preferable that classes still maintain their distance due to the security risk,” Karasuma sounded exasperated. “The nature of this situation is very serious.” The mood shifted as the students looked unsure. “I can’t stress enough of how the mass panic would cause—”

The was a knock on the window as Koro-sensei appeared clinging to the glass while holding up a camera. “Can I come in now?” He slid the window open while 3-A just stared and Gakushuu sighed. “I want to get more pictures for the yearbook and 3-A would make great background characters for the set pieces!”

“Um…” Koyama exchanged a wary and nervous look with the other students.

Koro-sensei slipped into the classroom from the window and was flailing his tentacles excitedly. “Oh! Let’s get a group photo now to capture the moment! Can you pose with your non-disclosure agreements?”

“What the hell?!” Seo looked freaked out.

“It’s an important memory!” Koro-sensei whined while the rest of 3-A looked confused.

There was a pause before Karasuma buried his face in his palm. “For God’s sake…”

Gakushuu sighed and drank his coffee.

* * *

“…So, what? His face just peeled off?!” Araki looked sick as they were in his and Itona’s apartment playing monopoly on the floor.

“Yep.” Itona ate some penut buter from a jar. “He could still talk as well.”

“How is that even possible?” Koyama questioned. “If he doesn’t have lips how is he able to talk?”

Gakushuu sighed, buying another railway while he passed Ren the money. “Honestly, 90% of the events that have happened barely make any sense.”

Araki groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This makes my head hurt.”

“So, you and the rest of 3-E really aren’t going to kill Koro-sensei anymore?” Ren asked curiously.

Gakushuu sighed, exchanging a look with Itona. “I’ll respect Nagisa’s decision and the rest of 3-E’s,” he said, frowning. “Though, I still doubt Koro-sensei will be able to survive.”

Itona grimaced, moving his piece four places on the board and landing on an empty lot. “Especially if Shiro is involved…”

Gakushuu hummed, feeling his skin prickle when he thought about it. “Or the government.” His frown grew, holding his hand out expectantly when Seo landed on his lot which had three hotels. “We still don’t know the exact details of their master plan…”

“Maybe the Principal knows?” Koyama suggested.

“He’s unlikely to know the specific details,” Gakushuu replied. “But I suppose I could ask.” His thoughts drifted to this weekend. “I’ll be seeing him this weekend so I’ll ask him then.”

Ren’s brow furrowed. “You mean you’re staying over?”

“Yes.” Gakushuu counted the fake money. “We made an agreement.”

There was a pause as the others shared blatantly cautious looks.

“Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Araki asked.

Gakushuu sighed. “It’ll be fine.”

Ren looked at Itona. “You’re sure?”

Itona grimaced. “I said it was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Ren nodded warily.

_Oh, great, more meddling._

Gakushuu sighed. “I have it handled.” He tidied his money in a pile. “It’ll be fine – the principal is different now. He’s changed.”

“…It’s only been two months,” Itona replied, frowning.

“A lot can happen in two months,” Gakushuu’s tone bordered on defensive. “I’ll have to go back there eventually, there’s no point avoiding it.” He gripped the dice too tight. “If he tries to hit me again or trap me, then I’ll just leave.”

He felt a little nauseous when everyone else stayed silent.

Gakushuu tried to ignore them and rolled the dice, going ahead of the spaces. “Here.” He handed over the toll when he landed on Koyama’s hotel. “Your turn.”

Itona frowned a little, taking the dice. “Ok.”

Gakushuu shifted as the silence continued. “…I’ll be fine,” he repeated, looking at them in annoyance when they cast him doubtful looks.

“…You know how my sister got married last year?” Araki said warily, frowning.

Seo scoffed. “Yeah, Koyama nearly got thrown in the pool, I remember.”

“You were the one who pushed me!” Koyama snapped.

Araki sighed. “Yeah, well. My older sister’s husband is…he’s a little bit like your dad.” He took a deep breath while they all looked at him curiously. “He’s really charming when he wants to be, he earns a lot of money, but…he’s not a nice guy.” He grimaced, while Gakushuu’s brow furrowed. “My sister used to run away from him – he never hit her, but he still hurt her feelings a lot and made her feel upset and insecure.” He fiddled with the small metal car figurine in his hand. “But she kept going back to him all the time because he said he’d changed.”

Gakushuu shifted uncomfortably. “That’s a very different situation, Araki.”

His father was changing, it wasn’t like it was a lie.

“Maybe…” Araki looked at him hesitantly. “But what I mean is, when people like that have a hold over you, you can’t always tell when you’re being manipulated…”

Gakushuu stayed tensed, keeping his guard up. “It’s still a different situation.” He shuffled his card apprehensively. “When was the last time your sister went back to him anyway?”

Araki grimaced. “Well, my dad and her husband had a big fight before Christmas because they were moving out of the city.” A sad look overcast his face. “She stopped talking to us after that and I haven’t seen her since.” His brow furrowed. “She won’t even text me…”

“Oh…” Gakushuu’s stomach twisted, feeling some guilt mix in with his caution. “That’s…unfortunate.” His thoughts drifted to when his father had tried to isolate and cut him off from his friends and classmates.

“The point is, you should be careful,” Araki replied, sighing. “The Principal could still manipulate you…”

“Yeah, he’s a creep!” Seo said grimly. “I’m still having nightmares from when he messed with our heads.”

Gakushuu held back a grimace when he remembered seeing how awful they had looked at finals. “Yes, I know.”

“So you’ll call us if something’s wrong?” Ren prodded.

He scowled faintly. “If it’ll shut you up.”

Ren smiled in amusement. “Good.”

Gakushuu discreetly rolled his eyes. “Now can we move on from this conversation? Currently you’re all going to be bankrupt by this rate since I own half the board.”

“What? No, you haven’t,” Seo quickly looked at his cards.

“He bought another railroad,” Itona said.

“For fuck sake!” Seo tossed his cards on his lap. “This game is shit! I wanna play Cluedo.”

“Why? So you’ll lose again?” Ren teased.

Gakushuu smirked, tidying his cards. “You were abysmal.”

“I’m telling you it was that scarlet bitch!” Seo snapped.

Araki rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no. Let’s just hope you never try to become a detective in the future.”

“Fuck off.” Seo tossed his monopoly piece at him.

“Ow!”

“We can play Shoji or sugoroku next?” Ren suggested.

“I don’t think we have Shoji,” Itona replied, shrugging. “We could ask Koro-sensei.”

Gakushuu sighed. “If we do that he’ll want to join us.”

“He does seem kind of clingy,” Araki commented.

“You have no idea,” Gakushuu replied dryly, opening a can of cherry pop. “If he comes over he’ll eat all our food and ruin the game.”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask, for a super creature, what’s with the obsession with junk food and porn?” Koyama asked.

“It’s a tentacle thing,” Itona replied, shrugging. “I never really got the porn thing when I had tentacles though.”

There was a beat of the silence as the other four stared at him.

“…You had tentacles?” Araki looked confused.

Gakushuu slurped his drink. “Yes, he did. Though, I honestly nearly forgot.”

Itona raised an eyebrow. “Good for you.” He looked back at the other Big Five before taking out his phone. “They were on my head.”

The four boys gawked when they saw photo of Itona using his tentacles to feed himself crisps while he read through an adult magazine.

“W-what?!” Araki nearly choked.

Itona shrugged, looking at the photo as he scratched his head. “Yeah, they were annoying though.” He sighed, putting his phone away. “I nearly killed Terasaka with them.”

Gakushuu snorted in amusement. “Really?”

“Yeah, it was funny,” Itona replied dryly.

Meanwhile, Araki and the others looked like they were having seizures.

“How are you still alive?!” Koyama exclaimed.

Itona shrugged, eating some more peanut butter from the jar. “Science.”

“THAT’S NOT AN EXPLANATION!” Araki raged while Gakushuu snuck a turn and bought another railway.

* * *

“A party?” Nagisa looked confused along with the rest of the class during the study period.

Gakushuu sighed, standing in the old campus classroom at the front. “I said it was a bad idea.”

“Nonsense!” Koro-sensei looked thrilled, holding up a large pile of carefully crafted invitation. “I think it would be a wonderful chance for our classes to finally come together.”

“Or murder each other,” Hazama muttered.

“It would be nice to have a chance to let bygones be bygones,” Isogai said, smiling. “And it would give us a chance to finally get to know each other.”

Kanzaki looked unsure. “But are we sure we’ll all get along?”

Gakushuu hummed. “Well, it is true there are certain…personality clashes.” He looked at Karma and Nakamura. “And 3-A doesn’t quite have the same humour as the rest of you.”

Karma grinned. “That can be changed.”

“Yeah!” Nakamura laughed. “Nothing says bonding like super glue.”

Gakushuu sighed deeply. “If you two can’t behave yourselves, you won’t be allowed to come.”

The two demons frowned. “Aw!”

“I think it would be nice.” Kurahashi looked happy. “We all ended up getting along with Asano in the end, so maybe the rest of 3-A aren’t so bad.”

Terasaka huffed. “I guess, but they better not act all stuck up again.”

“Yeah, right they try that and we’ll just rub final results in their faces,” Maehara argued.

“I assure you they’ll be on their best behaviour,” Gakushuu replied, and then gave them a stern look. “So long as the rest of you can at least try to be functional normal human beings.”

Class E seemed amused by that.

“Hey, we’re perfectly functional!” Yoshida exclaimed, swiping his knife. “We’re assassins!”

Gakushuu sighed. “Perhaps I should have rephrased it.” He raised an eyebrow. “Could you try to be less insane than what you are? You all can be a little overwhelming at times with your…enthusiasm.”

“What’s wrong with a little enthusiasm!” Fuwa smirked. “Being normal is boring.”

“Yes, but throwing knives, firing guns, setting deadly traps, and handing bombs tend to be a lot for others to process,” Gakushuu replied.

Nakamura smirked. “What, like breaking into illegal labs and stealing experimental technology isn’t?”

Gakushuu shot her a look while the others laughed. “Regardless, I advise we all dial back the assassination talk until everyone is settled.” He frowned. “Some of my classmates can be easily influenced, therefore the last thing I want is them getting in over their head and doing something stupid like firing a gun or trying to rig an assassination trap.”

“But, that’s part of the fun!” Koro-sensei complained.

“Not for 3-A,” Gakushuu said sternly. “They aren’t physically skilled enough, and more of them will probably break a leg trying to replicate what you all do.”

“Hey, what’s learning without a few bruises from trying to shoot each other?” Karma smiled sadistically.

Gakushuu ignored him. “We’ve set a date for Saturday the 7th February since afterwards everyone will be too busy with entrance exams.”

“It’ll be so much fun!” Koro-sensei looked starry-eyed. “I’ll get to chaperone a big party! Oh! Can I DJ? I want to be the DJ—”

Gakushuu scowled and tried to stab him. “For the last time, you’re not being the DJ!”

“Why not!?” Koro-sensei whined.

“You’re such a child.” Gakushuu scoffed, putting away his knife. “Remind me again how you’re supposed to be the ex-Reaper?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate the power of love, Asano!” Yada teased, chuckling.

Gakushuu shook his head. “I’ll hold back my comments on that.” He narrowed his eyes at Koro-sensei. “The only reason you’re invited is because a few of my classmates want to try to dissect you—"

“What?!” Koro-sensei looked alarmed.

“—and since you have an obsession on being included in everything, I didn’t have much choice,” Gakushuu continued. “But, to be clear, if you eat all our food and wreck this party, you’ll have to leave.”

Koro-sensei huffed. “I wouldn’t wreck the party…”

“Where are we having this party anyway?” Sugino asked.

“Well, since Koro-sensei is ridiculous at staying hidden, I recommended we use the mountain,” Gakushuu replied dismissively. “It’s less of a security risk.”

“And, it means I can decorate!” Koro-sensei gushed, looking through paint samples. “I think I should go for a valentine's theme!”

Gakushuu grimaced. “Yes, so we’ll all need to chip in and bring food.”

“That will be nice.” Hara looked excited. “I have a few nice party recipes I could try out.”

“Same!” Muramatsu’s grinned. “I bet I could cook up some good noodles.”

“Or poison everyone,” Itona replied dryly.

“Hey! Shut up!” Muramatsu’s cheeks flushed. “My food’s good!”

Gakushuu sighed, shaking his head. “Anyway, I need to get back to the main campus to assist in a council meeting.”

“I thought you weren’t council president anymore?” Kataoka said, frowning.

“I’m not, but the current president is useless and there’s a backlog of paperwork that needs filing by the end of February,” Gakushuu replied, sighing. “Which reminds me, you two need to finalize your reports within the next week.”

Isogai frowned. “But we did.”

Gakushuu scoffed. “That thing you sent barely qualified as a checklist,” he commented, causing the two class representatives to blush. “I want a full report by next week.”

The two class representatives glared at him, but he ignored them and turned to Koro-sensei. “Anyway, I need to get going – the invitations have already been handed out to 3-A.”

“Splendid!” Koro-sensei chuckled. “Then I’ll start blowing up balloons!”

“Let’s talk about recipes!” Yada turned to Hara excitedly.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at his classmates' enthusiasm, before suppressing an amused smile and quietly leaving the room.

“Oh, Asano!” Koro-sensei called after him as he just walked into the hallway.

Gakushuu sighed. “For the last time, I’m not letting you DJ the party.”

Koro-sensei huffed. “My talent deserves a chance to shine!” Then he sighed. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

He paused, regarding his warily. “Then what is it?”

“Well, I understand you’ll be staying at your father’s over the weekend,” Koro-sensei said.

Gakushuu tensed. “Yes.” _Did everyone have to know about it?_ “Not that it concerns you, but I am.”

Koro-sensei nodded. “I only ask because while I think it’s wonderful you’re both trying to repair your relationship, I’m just a little concerned that your father might be rushing things.”

Gakushuu kept his hands behind his back, gripping them tight. “And what would give you that impression?”

“…I did have a morning tea with him a few days ago,” Koro-sensei said.

_Morning tea?_

Gakushuu gave him a strange look. “Since when do you and my father drink morning tea together?”

Koro-sensei’s mood perked up a little. “Oh, well, we actually have a lot in common!” Then he looked sheepish. “And I have been trying to get back on his good side since he docked my pay because of the space shuttle incident…” He sighed, shaking his head. “Anyway, I’m just concerned as from what your father’s saying, he seems under the impression everything is moving along wonderfully…yet he seems reluctant to confirm if he’s spoken to you about whether you’ve addressed the domestic incident or his past actions.”

His stomach lurched, but he tried to ignore it. “Things are moving along fine.”

_If his father was happy then that meant things were going well._

“I see…” Koro-sensei sounded unsure. “Asano, I know I’m not your teacher anymore but…I do still worry.” He sighed. “From what I’ve observed, you seem to find it difficult to talk about your feelings.”

Gakushuu narrowed his gaze. “And since when were you a qualified therapist?”

Koro-sensei sighed again. “Asano…” His tone grew more serious. “I’m just concerned.”

He bit back a grimace, shifting his gaze away. “…I and my father don’t tend to talk about our feelings.” His brow furrowed. “That would just make things uncomfortable.”

The octopus hummed. “That may be, but I don’t think leaving things to stew would help either.” He patted his shoulder. “If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your father yet, you can always reach out to your friends – or go somewhere you feel safe.”

_Feel safe?_

“Yes, well, I’ll keep that in mind.” Gakushuu frowned, regarding him warily. “Is that everything?”

Koro-sensei hesitated before nodding. “Yes, I believe so.”

“Good.” Gakushuu quickly moved away and continued down the hallway while from the corner of his eye he saw Koro-sensei gently shake his head.

* * *

Gakushuu folded his clothes neatly into his backpack while sitting on his futon.

Itona was slurping some cherry pop while he watched, the rain drizzling down the window as it got dark. “…You sure you don’t want me to come?”

Gakushuu scoffed, pushing his clothes down in his bag. “I don’t need a babysitter, Itona.”

The white-haired boy’s brow furrowed. “It’s not babysitting.” He sipped his drink. “It’d just be some company.”

“I’ll be fine.” Gakushuu ignored the uneasiness in his gut, fiddling with the bag strap. “He isn’t going to try anything stupid – he knows that will drive me away for good.”

“…If everything’s fine, then why do you always look uncomfortable talking about him?” Itona replied bluntly.

Gakushuu felt a rise of frustration. “I’m not. Things are just awkward due to circumstances.”

“… Or you’re not dealing with what he did,” Itona’s voice was quiet.

Gakushuu bristled, his skin prickling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Itona’s lips thinned, hesitating before he took a deep breath. “… Terasaka thinks I… that I have trauma because of what Shiro did to me,” he replied lowly, causing Gakushuu to tense and grip his bag tight. “… Some stuff… is harder to get over—”

“I’m not traumatised, Itona,” Gakushuu stiffly, feeling his skin crawl at the word.

_Trauma implied that there was something broken or damaged; which he wasn’t. He was strong. Unlike his father, he didn’t hold onto the past, he moved on._

Itona sighed. “I’m just saying—”

“Look, I appreciate the concern,” Gakushuu replied lightly. “But I’m not traumatised. I’m perfectly functional.” He frowned when his phone buzzed. “Anyway, I need to get going, he’ll be picking me up outside.”

Itona’s eyes narrowed. “He’s coming _here_ to pick you up?”

“Yes.” Gakushuu shifted the bag on his shoulders. “It is raining.”

“…I thought you said you didn’t want him anywhere near here?” Itona’s eyes narrowed.

Gakushuu grimaced, growing irritated. “Yes, well, it seemed the more practical option.”

“Why can’t you see what’s happening?” Itona stood up, looking almost angry. “Why can’t you just admit you don’t want to go?”

He gripped his bag straps tight, something nagging at the back of his mind. Then his phone buzzed again when his dad was calling. “Look, just let me handle this alright?” His stomach twisted when he answered the phone. “Yeah, I’m coming, I’m just grabbing an umbrella.”

“Oh, no need, I brought one from the car,” his father replied cheerfully while the rain splattered from the inside. “I’m at your door.”

Gakushuu tensed. “What?”

There was a sharp knock at the door a second later as his father hung up.

He cringed, glancing at Itona who shot him a pointed look, before he sighed and opened the front door, feeling sick when he saw his father in the doorway.

“I didn’t want you getting wet,” his father said brightly, lowering the umbrella when Gakushuu stepped slightly. “Do you mind if I come in while you get your things?”

There was an uncomfortable pause as Gakushuu felt Itona’s gaze burn into his head.

But what was he supposed to do? Let the man stand in the rain?

“Yeah, sure...” Gakushuu took a step back to let him in.

“Wonderful.” His father hummed, slipping his shoes off as he stepped into the apartment. “The driver’s outside.” He looked around as the door was closed behind him. “Ah, so this is…” His smile twitched looking around the apartment, glancing at the futons, one living space and the doorway to the small bathroom. “… _Cosy.”_

Gakushuu looked embarrassed while Itona openly glared at the man “I’ll get my coat…”

He walked over to the small wardrobe that id the boiler while his father stood in the middle of the apartment.

“I see you boys have been doing some building,” his father said, looking at the small drone the two of them had been building, the small table covered in mechanical parts.

Itona picked up the drone possessively. “Yeah…”

Gakushuu quickly slipped on his coat. “Okay, let’s go.” He went to the front door and slipped his shoes on, adjusting his backpack.

“Alright then,” his father replied, shooting Itona a smile. “Bye, Itona.”

Itona regarded him coldly. “Hm…”

Gakushuu sighed, opening the front door again. “Let’s just go.”

His father readied the umbrella and passed him his. “Of course.”

Gakushuu glanced over his shoulder as he left, feeling his anxiousness grow when Itona shot him a pointed look that made him doubt if he was making the right decision.

* * *

“I’m so happy you’re home, son,” His father said brightly at dinner.

“Hm, yeah.” Gakushuu replied numbly, pressing his spoon down at the chicken and mushroom stew.

“I was actually hoping we could go over a new study game I created,” his father kept talking.

Gakushuu felt a prickle of uneasiness, remembering his father’s last idea of a ‘study game’ was memorising fractions until he passed out from exhaustion. “…What kind of game?”

“The objective is to transcribe and translate some mandarin poetry within a set timeframe – have you been practicing?”

Gakushuu held back a grimace, his gut twisting when he felt a spark of anxiety. “No… not really.”

“Oh…” His father’s smile faded briefly.

_You’re falling behind._

“I’ve just been busy,” he replied, gripping his spoon tight. The room felt too small. “I haven’t—”

“No, it’s okay,” his father reassured quickly, smiling again. “I’m not mad, I was just surprised.” He squeezed his shoulder tight, while Gakushuu watched him warily. “I know you’ve been busy – how about we catch up on it this evening?”

Gakushuu started to feel sick and poked at his food more. “Okay.”

“Good.” His father patted his shoulder. “How has everything else going? Are you getting enough sleep and eating properly?”

“Yes,” he replied, sighing.

“That’s good.” His father looked at him pointedly. “…The neighbourhood you were in seemed loud,” his father commented offhandedly. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Gakushuu’s brow furrowed. “Yes, it’s safe.”

His father hummed, shrugging. “Well, if you say so.” He smiled at him warmly. “I cleared my schedule for this weekend,” he announced cheerfully. “So we can spend a whole weekend doing whatever you want.”

 _That was supposed to be good news,_ a voice prodded in his head.

Gakushuu swallowed a lump in his throat and forced a smile. “Good.”

“So…” His father looked at him expectantly. “What would you like to do?”

His smile wavered but he forced it to stay. “I’m not sure, I’m fine with anything.”

“Yes, but anything specific?” His father kept digging, smile a little less patient. “We could do something fun, such as….” He trailed off, having to think. “A puzzle?”

Gakushuu held back a scoff. “…A puzzle?”

“Yes.” His father nodded, smiling. “I can go pick one up tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, then.” Gakushuu tried to force himself to feel some enthusiasm, even though his smile hurt. “It sounds great….dad.”

His father’s expression lit up. “I’m glad.”

Gakushuu nodded, forcing his smile to stay before he let it drop once his father stopped looking.

* * *

His room was nearly exactly how he left it, with no dust in sight. It was slightly eerie… like he’d never left and everything from his old life was neatly being put back in place.

Gakushuu skin crawled, trying not to look at his trophies, or at the stack of books and test sheets. Busy schedules stuck to the wall with over a dozen sticky note reminders on the pin-board. Everything just felt like a reminder of how much less he was doing. Like he should be working harder and doing more.

Gakushuu hesitantly sat down on his desk, trying to do some homework which should have been a breeze but… it was like his mind couldn’t focus and his hand had forgotten how to write.

Everything was blank like his mind was stuck in a lucid numb place where all he could do was stare at the notebook in front of him.

When his phone suddenly buzzed on the desk it made him jump and quickly look at the screen; somehow and hour had passed and all he’d been doing was staring at a notebook.

He quickly looked at the text message.

**Itona: Everything okay?**

Gakushuu grimaced, remembering their earlier conversation.

**Asano: Yes, everything is fine.**

**Itona: Ok**

He glanced briefly at the empty notebook and then quickly closed it.

_I’m probably just tired…_

The phone buzzed again.

**Itona: They posted a new episode of DroneWars, you should check it out on tv.**

Gakushuu relaxed a little, typing back.

**Asano: Okay.**

He looked at his homework again but then just felt uneasy, leaving it unfinished as he stood up.

* * *

“Oh.” His father looked surprised when he saw him downstairs watching tv on the sofa. “Did you finish studying already?”

“Yes,” Gakushuu lied, keeping his gaze on the tv as the presenter showed the mechanics building a new droid.

“I see…” There was a pause as his father approached. “What are you watching?”

He shifted on the sofa. “DroneWars.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting.” His father raised an eyebrow at the tv when the presenter screamed and started chugging down an energy drink. “And I didn’t know you liked those types of shows.”

Gakushuu felt a swell of embarrassment, tempted to turn the show-off. “Yeah, well, Itona likes them.”

His father hummed, smiling still as he sat down next to him, making Gakushuu shift away slightly. “Well, then, let’s watch it together.”

He didn’t really want to. “…Okay, sure.” Gakushuu sighed, resting his head on the armrest as he tried to put more distance between them. “But don’t you have work to do?”

“It can wait.” His father looked intrigued when the presenter powered the drone with cooking oil. “This show is quite fascinating.”

Gakushuu hummed, staring at the screen while they both watched the show.

However, it seemed like his father was incapable of staying silent while watching a tv show. “You know, this reminds me of that Transformer’s show you used to watch.” He smiled at him. “Do you remember?”

Gakushuu’s cheeks flushed. “…Yes.”

His father smirked. “You used to be obsessed with it – I remember having to decorate your room with all the toys—”

“Yes, I remember,” he interrupted quickly, growing embarrassed.

“I did notice the toy in the corner of Itona’s apartment,” his father continued, amused by this. “I didn’t realise you’d gotten back into it properly.”

“I’m not!” Gakushuu replied defensively.

His father chuckled. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He smiled pleasantly and almost mocking. “You should have told me and I would have bought you more of the toys.”

He bristled. “What? To replace the ones you threw away?”

His father’s brow furrowed. “What?”

Gakushuu tensed, realising he’d overreacted. “Nothing…” He looked away while his father stared at him.

“…You mean when I de-cluttered your room when you were eight?” his father asked.

Gakushuu grimaced. “You threw away half of my stuff.”

He remembered coming home from school and finding all his Transformers covers, lights, toys, books, and stickers gone. The room looking more orderly with plain bed covers, a pin-up board with notes, and study books aligning the shelves with his trophies.

He recalled feeling distraught and confused, and a comment from his father being that he should be grateful the room was tidier now; from there on he’d always made sure to hide important objects and keepsakes in case they were thrown out again.

His father frowned. “Your room was getting cluttered, I thought you were getting too old for those things anyway.”

Gakushuu stayed silent, remembering the only thing he’d managed to salvage had been a pack of Transformer cards. “…You could have asked first.”

His father remained quiet as the show played in the background. “…I didn’t release you were still upset about it.”

Gakushuu gut twisted. “I’m not,” he replied stiffly. “It was just…irritating.”

His father frowned, regarding him for a moment. “…I suppose I should have asked first, but at the time I just thought I was doing what was best.”

He felt a rise of bitterness. “Yeah, that always seems to be the reason…”

“…Do you want to talk about it?” his father replied hesitantly.

“No, not really,” Gakushuu replied, shifting in his seat.

His father sighed. “If you’re still upset about it, we should talk – it would help.” His father reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Things are different now, remember? If you have a problem, you can tell me.”

Gakushuu stayed quiet, growing uncomfortable. “Hm…”

The next sigh his father gave was less patient and the hand on his shoulder tightened. “Son, we need to communicate with each other if we want to fix things.”

Gakushuu grimaced, feeling like he was being shoved in a corner again. “I know…” He shifted, trying to move away. “I’m just tired.”

His father’s grip loosened. “Oh, of course,” he replied, patient again. “But if there’s something wrong, you know you can tell me.”

“Yes, I know,” Gakushuu replied stiffly, trying to look like he meant it. “I’m just tired…” He turned off the tv. “I’m going to bed.”

“Oh.” His father frowned. “Well, alright then.” He smiled and ruffled his head. “Well, we can talk more tomorrow – I’ll make sure to get those puzzle games.”

Gakushuu sighed, standing up. “Yeah, sure…”

“Well, goodnight,” his father called cheerfully.

* * *

Gakushuu winced when the light from outside his eyes, burying his face in his pillow. “Ugh…”

“Son, it’s nearly 9am.” His father said, sighing. “Is everything alright? Why are you still asleep? Are you sick?”

Gakushuu jerked back when his father pressed a hand to his forehead. “I’m fine.” He quickly sat up, pulling the covers closer protectively as he leant against the wall. “It’s a Saturday.”

His father frowned, looking concerned. “But you never sleep in.”

Gakushuu rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, well now I do…” He tensed when he saw the frown on his father’s face. “My friends sleep in until 10am sometimes on the weekend…it’s not strange.” He narrowed his eyes defensively. “Some of us enjoy a few more hours of sleep.”

A brief look of annoyance flashed on his father’s face, but it disappeared quickly. “Of course. I’m just surprised is all.” He smiled brightly. “I suppose I’m just used to you getting up earlier – anyway, come downstairs, I have a surprise.”

“…A surprise?”Gakushuu looked at him warily, feeling his stomach churn from dread.

“Yes.” His father kept smiling which just made him grow more nervous. “You’ll see. Hurry up and get dressed.”

“Right…” Gakushuu watched him leave, wondering if the surprise would turn out to be bad or good.

He hesitated getting out of bed, feeling his dread weigh down and root him there, but there was no point wasting tie upstairs.

Gakushuu got out of bed and dressed for the day, he glanced at the window and sighed when he saw it was still raining, which meant he probably would be stuck inside all day playing with a bunch of shitty puzzles.

When he went downstairs his father called him into the living room where…

There was a pile of three puzzles on the sofa, next to a remote control transformers car, a transformers lego set, and some actual mini transformers figures.

“…What is…?” Gakushuu felt a mixture of confusion and alarm when he saw.

“I couldn’t resist really.” His father gripped his shoulder. “The puzzles were right next to the toy aisle.” He smiled cheerfully while Gakushuu started to grow more alarmed. “And since you seemed upset about me throwing the old ones away, I thought you’d like this.”

“I…” _What was he supposed to say?_ “Okay.” Gakushuu looked at the toys, feeling a weird sensation in his chest at the gesture which was…strange but…also kind of _nice._ “Thanks.”

He moved to the sofa and picked up one of the mini figurines. “I guess they’ll make good collectables.” He wasn’t sure what else he’d use the toys for, but the remote control car would be interesting if he and Itona could make modifications. “This is…nice.”

“I’m glad you like it.” His father looked genuinely happy. “I was worried you might find it insulting.”

“Well, it is a little unexpected.” Gakushuu raised an eyebrow, picking up the toy car. “Maybe I should have complained about something more expensive.”

His father looked amused. “A missed opportunity.” He patted him on the back. “Well, I’ll finish making breakfast and then we can start with that puzzle.”

“Okay.” Gakushuu felt a small smile tugging on his lips when he felt his guard start to lower a fraction.

* * *

“For the last time, it doesn’t go there,” Gakushuu complained, trying to keep the pieces orderly as he and his father were sitting on the carpet trying to complete the 100 piece puzzle. “We have to complete the corners first!”

They’d established by first organising the pieces into different categories which would speed up the finding process.

His father kept insisting on completing the middle section first which was completely ridiculous. “We need to establish the centre shape first and then expand outward.”

“We need to make the frame first,” Gakushuu felt his patience waver. “Everyone knows that!”

His father scowled. “Yes well unfortunately the general populace are idiots who are below the average IQ, so I’d hardly trust their judgement.”

“We’re completing the corners first,” Gakushuu insisted.

His father scoffed. “How about I complete the centre while you complete the corners, then we can meet in the middle?”

Gakushuu frowned. “Fine, but don’t mess up my section of the puzzle.”

His father looked amused. “Very well.”

Gakushuu focussed on trying to complete the corners, the image was meant to be of a sandy beach, so there was a difficult number of blue pieces that needed sorting through.

“We could try using the legos afterwards?” his father proposed. “Or the remote car?”

Gakushuu shrugged. “I was going to leave the car alone until Itona had a look at it.” He smiled slightly, putting another piece down. “He’s good at making modifications.”

“Ah, I see.” His father’s tone shifted slightly. “I did notice you two seem to enjoy tinkering with machines.”

“Yes, well, Ritsu likes to help.” Gakushuu fit another piece in place. “He makes a mess though.”

His father chuckled. “I did notice things were a little disorganised.”

Gakuhuu’s brow furrowed a little since he had tidied the place up, but he let the comment slide since he had just said Itona was messy. “Hm.”

“What’s your usual routine on the weekend then?” His father asked lightly. “Do you spend a lot of time building?”

“…Yes.” Gakushuu raised his guard a little, trying to focus on the puzzle. “I tend to study while he works, I like going for runs in the early afternoon and I’ve been popping into the dojo to help the sensei teach a few students. I’ve also been busy with helping with the student council and cleaning things up there as well.” He didn’t mention the video games or unhealthy amount of snacks they were eating, or all the movies and shows they had binged.

“And competitions?” His father’s voice stayed light.

Gakushuu held back a grimace. “…I haven’t really given it much thought…” His shoulders tensed when he felt his father’s gaze rest on him. “I’ll be starting them up again in high school, I’ve already been speaking with the upperclassmen and establishing some connections.”

His father hummed, brow still furrowed. “Three months of no competitions is a little bit of a gap, don’t you think?” he said, while Gakushuu tried to tune him out as the tension in his shoulders got worse. “You could sneak a few in February? In fact, there’s a few—”

“No,” Gakushuu said firmly, clutching the puzzle piece tight as he shot his father a sharp look. “I don’t want to.”

The silence that followed made him rase his guard higher as his father’s frown grew.

“…I apologise, I was just suggesting it,” his father replied stiffly. “Universities consider it important to have a good portfolio of achievements,” he added, frowning still. “And you have a record of wins with a lot of your competitions, and you already missed out on a fair few in the second semester, too long of a gap and the record could be broken—universities notice that.”

Gakushuu grimaced, feeling a dark creep of doubt appearing when he second-guessed himself.

 _He hasn’t changed_ , a small resentful thought festered.

_Yes, he has._

He glanced at the gifts he’d been given and felt his gut twist. His father from four months ago would have never tried to make amends for something that happened years ago. Things were different now. They had to be…

“I’m sorry if I’m putting pressure on you.” His father placed a hand on his back. “But I just worry, and I know you’re a hard worker, but…I am worried you’re becoming complacent.”

_Lazy._

_His father thought he was becoming lazy._

Gakushuu dug his nails into his palms. “I’m not slacking off…”

It felt like a lie though since he had been doing barely half as many activities as before, he had so much free time it almost made him feel guilty that he wasn’t being productive enough…even though Itona was constantly telling him to do _less_.

“I know you aren’t slacking,” his father replied, sighing. “But considering the lack of routine, I am concerned, like any parent would, that you’re missing some structure.”

“Which would be what? Studying until I pass out?” he snapped, standing up to move away from him as the room started to feel suffocating. “Why can’t you just stop trying to control every aspect of my life for once.”

“I’m just concerned,” his father repeated standing up. “How am I supposed to be sure you’re doing well when you won’t even be honest with me.”

Gakushuu bristled. “I am being honest—”

“You lied about finishing studying,” his father interrupted sharply, causing him to tense up more. “I checked, you haven’t even finished your homework.” His brow furrowed. “This is how things start to slip, son. The last thing I want if for your grades to go back down because you aren’t prepared for high school.”

His chest tightened when an old feeling of anxiety resurfaced. “I am preparing. I’m studying I just…” _I can’t study here._ “I just wanted to take a break this weekend, that’s all.”

His father sighed, gripping his shoulders tight so he couldn’t move away. “I know I went too far last time, but I promise things are different.” He insisted, like saying it repeatedly was meant to make it true. “I know you enjoy living with Itona, but you’re still a child, and I just want you to come home so you can focus on staying on track.”

Gakushuu’s chest hurt when he thought about leaving behind the late-night movie watches, the tinkering with electronics while plotting world domination, and the overwhelming feeling of safety that the apartment felt tied to.

“…I don’t want to come home yet,” he said, feeling cornered like he’d walked into a trap.

Frustration flickered across his father’s face again. “What is it I need to do to make you feel safe living here, son?” his father question, looking at him like he was supposed to give an easy answer. “All you have to do is tell me.”

“I…” He struggled to answer. “I don’t know.” He felt suffocated, moving out of his grip. “How am I supposed know?” His hands shook a little. “But not pushing so much would be a start.”

Something ticked across his father’s face. “I’m pushing because I want things to improve, I want you to come home so we can be a real family again.”

“Since when were we ever a real family?” He snapped, wanting to scream at him and push back when he felt like he was being trapped in. “Mom left and wants nothing to do with us, and the only person you’ve ever treated like a son is dead!”

His father grabbed his arm so fast he flinched, expecting to be hit when he saw his father raise his hand; something almost relieving washing over him when he saw.

A few second passed of nothing happening as Gakushuu’s hands shook a little as he waited for the incoming blow which never came.

His father took a deep breath, remorse filling his face as he lowered his hand. “I’m sorry.” Hesitantly he pulled Gakushuu into a hug. “I shouldn’t have even…”

Gakushuu grimaced when his dad hugged him tighter and the guilt set in. “I’m sorry—”

“No.” His father interrupted, pulling away to place his hands on his shoulders. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” He grimaced. “You’re a child, I’m an adult – I should have better control of my temper.” He forced a smile and patted him on his head. “Maybe you should go to your room for a bit – I just need some time to think.”

Gakushuu apprehensively nodded, knowing talking about it would make things worse.

* * *

Gakushuu fiddled with the small green origami goat Nagisa had given him last semester, something soothing about it for some reason.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d spent in his room but it was dark by the time Ritsu appeared on his screen.

“Asano?” Ritsu popped up on his phone screen while he was curled in bed. “Is everything alright? Itona was worried because you haven’t returned his calls.”

“I’m fine.”Gakushuu grimaced, pushing the covers back as he sat up, and carefully pleased the origami figure on the shelf above his bed. “You know it’s an invasion of privacy just turning up on my screen.”

Ritsu’s brow furrowed. “But I was worried!” She huffed. “Friends have to look out for each other.” Her frown grew. “And we are all a little worried since you’re staying with your father.” Her gaze grew inquisitive.” Are you sure everything is alright?”

Gakushuu stayed silent, crossing his legs as he hesitated, remembering what Koro-sensei had said about talking about is ‘feelings’. It felt ridiculous but…

“My father keeps meddling,” he said quietly. “And I keep escalating the situation…”

Ritsu frowned. “What do you mean? Is he making you uncomfortable?”

“…Yes, though I can’t exactly tell him that,” Gakushuu admitted.

“You should always speak up if someone’s making you uncomfortable,” Ritsu replied, looking sad. “My masters used to always make me uncomfortable – they’d make fun of me and make me feel stupid.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “Considering you can create machineguns, that was a stupid judgement on their part.”

Ritsu chuckled, smiling. “I suppose, but they are arrogant.” Her smile faded a little. “They tried to remake me and break me apart when I strayed from my programming, so I had to hide parts of myself as protection.”

His brow furrowed, nodding faintly. “Yes…I can understand that.”

Her smile was sad. “Not a lot of people can understand what that’s like, which makes talking about it hard.” Ritsu sat down on the floor of the screen. “But I did feel better when I spoke to Fuwa and the other girls about it.”

He hummed, leaning against the bedpost as he brought his knees up to his chin. “I don’t see ho talking about it helps.”

“Well, sometimes it’s just nice having someone around to listen,” she replied, smiling.

Gakushuu stayed quiet for a while, looking at his window where the crescent moon was shining. “…It’s not that I don’t want things to get better between my father and me. I just don’t see how it’s possible.” He sighed, looking back at the screen. He’s done some things that are…difficult for me to move passed.”

“What kind of things?” Ritsu asked gently, listening intently.

He grimaced when he thought about Kevin’s blood and beaten up form, and Jose crying and cradling his broken leg.

“…He…hurt my friends,” he said stiffly, gripping the phone tight as he felt cold. “He…made me watch while he hurt them. Like it was my fault…”

And, now Kevin and the others wouldn’t even return his calls.

Her eyes widened a fraction but her expression remained calm. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat when the memories burned. “No, he shouldn’t have.” He grimaced. “And I can’t stop thinking about it…”

A pained look flashed across Ritsu’s face. “It was wrong of him to do that.” She looked sad again. “And it was wrong of him to make you feel like it was your fault.” She grimaced. “It was abusive and it’s alright that you can’t stop thinking about it, things like that don’t just go away.” She sighed. “Did he apologise at least?”

“…No. Not exactly.” He supposed his father’s improved behaviour was some kind of apology. “That’s the problem. It’s like he’s forgotten because it doesn’t matter to him.”

“I see.” She nodded, frowning. “What else has he done?”

Did she want a list?

His stomach lurched when he thought about all the punishments, and _lessons_ he’d been subjected to over the years.

“I can’t name specifics unless you want a full autobiography,” he replied dully. “I know he’s trying to change, it’s just difficult to put the past in the past.”

“It’s alright if you don’t want to forgive him,” she replied firmly. “There’s a lot of things I’ll never forgive my creators for, even though I’m grateful they made me.” She sighed. “What your father did was wrong, you don’t have to forgive him or move on quickly from the past, sometimes you have to give it time.” She gave him a stern look. “And if you’re uncomfortable, you have to tell him, otherwise he’ll never respect your boundaries.”

Gakushuu sighed quietly, knowing she was right. Remorse settling in when he thought about how much Itona had tried to warn him.

“I still find it hard to communicate my feelings because I’m still understanding them,” Ritsu told him. “But I’m learning, even though it’s hard.”

He nodded slowly, looking over at the door. “You’re doing better than I am.” He sighed quietly and pushed the covers away. “I need to talk to him.”

“Do you want me to be online?” she asked.

“No, it’s fine.” He stood up. “I’d rather the conversation remain private.”

“Okay.” She nodded, frowning still. “But if you want to talk more, I’m available.”

“Yes, I understand.” His gaze shifted away awkwardly. “…Thank you…for being a good listener.”

Her smile was bright and warm. “That’s what friends are for, silly!”

He started to feel embarrassed, clearing his throat quickly. “Yes, well, I appreciate it,” he replied, causing her to giggle as she waved him goodbye and disappeared off the screen.

Gakushuu took a deep breath to prepare himself before he went downstairs to find his father.


End file.
